Even Though, a Glee and Harry Potter story
by CrissCrossed
Summary: What happens when the Glee kids go to Hogwarts and take their relationship drama with them?  Set in sixth year, second season of Glee
1. Even Though Love Can Be Annoying

"I just don't understand," Rachel Berry sighed. She and Hermione Granger were sitting out on the grounds and getting many weird stares. It wasn't common that a Gryffindor and Slytherin would be in each other's company outside of class, much less as friends. Hermione looked up at Rachel from her DADA essay and put her quill down.

"What do you mean?"

"How can Finn be so oblivious? He thinks Quinn is better for him than I am. Both you and I and everyone else know that's so wrong…" she trailed off and sighed theatrically. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Well, we both know boys are just going to be like that. There's nothing we can do," she said with a little shrug. Rachel raised her eyebrows.

"And you only say that because you're having trouble with Ron. I know Finn will come around," Rachel tossed her hair as Hermione returned to the essay, without a comment, blushing.

000

"Dude, what the hell is that?" Finn asked, chuckling a bit to himself as Ron and Harry approached. Ron looked down at the far too large gold necklace dangling by his tie, as Harry stifled a laugh, his hand over his mouth.

"You guys need to shut up," Ron said his voice low and annoyed, like he didn't really want Finn and Harry to hear what he was saying. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Lavender gave him the necklace for Christmas," Harry explained to Finn, raising his eyebrows and speaking with a significant tone that made Ron glower.

Finn chuckled again. "I'm telling you bro, you have _got_ to dump her. I know about crazy girlfriends and bro, you need to get rid of that girl."

"You and Rachel actually kind of worked," Harry pointed out fairly. Ron looked up at Finn desperately.

"You don't understand. Rachel was ten times saner than Lavender," he said. Finn shrugged, knowing it to be true.

"Speak of the devil," Harry muttered as Lavender ran over and threw her arms around Ron's neck, with a squeal of 'Won Won!'.

She dragged a confused and miserable looking Ron away. Harry made an apologetic face and Finn winked, still chuckling a bit.

"Sometimes I think you're lucky, you know. You've never had a girlfriend," Finn said to Harry.

Harry shrugged. He didn't really know whether he really was lucky about that or not. He certainly didn't feel like it. He watched Ginny Weasley walk past, pushing that Artie Abrams around in his wheelchair.

Suddenly, someone came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around and saw Blaine Anderson standing there. Harry smiled politely. He didn't really know Blaine terribly well, but he was in Gryffindor and he always saw him around.

"This is for you," Blaine said, holding out a scroll of parchment. Before Harry took it, he knew it would be the date for his and Dumbledore's next meeting. He opened it and to his surprise, found Dumbledore had invited Harry up to his office right then. He said goodbye to Finn and Blaine before rushing off.

Blaine stared rather dreamily after Harry, sighing softly. He wasn't exactly hiding it and Finn noticed.

"Dude, you have got to get over Harry. You know he likes girls," he said, still smiling a bit. Blaine looked up at him.

"I know, but there's just something about him…" he stared.

Finn didn't want to go deep into that conversation, so he just patted Blaine on the shoulder and said, "Come on, we'll be late for Charms."

000

"Britt, I know you can get it if you try again. Come on, do it again. Luna, show her." Santana said, a bit impatiently.

They were in the Room of Requirement long after hours, trying to teach Brittany how to perform a patronus. Luna waved her wand and said "Expecto Patronum!" in that sweet little voice of hers. A silvery hare erupted from the end of her wand and hopped eagerly around the room, before evaporating. Brittany stared at it with a mix of jealousy and annoyance before she turned to Santana.

"Show me yours again." she demanded. Luna didn't seem to mind that Brittany was especially fond of Santana's patronus. She just stared politely. Santana sighed and waved her wand.

"Expecto Patronum!" she said, and a gleaming silver panther exploded out of the end of her wand. It opened its mouth as if it was roaring and then prowled around the room, occasionally running and pouncing onto nothing before it evaporated in a poof of silver vapour. Brittany smiled and clapped her hands. Luna smiled when she saw Brittany was smiling.

"Come on Britt. Do it." Santana said. She really believed that Brittany could perform a patronus charm if she would just concentrate.

"Yes, I know you can. Harry Potter learned how in his third year," Luna said encouragingly. Brittany put on a little pouty face.

"I'm not as smart as Harry Potter," she muttered. Santana let out a groan of exasperation.

"Yes, you are." she and Luna said at the same time, although Luna still sounded perfectly happy and Santana sounded extremely annoyed. Either way, Brittany seemed to perk up slightly. She took her wand out of her pocket and looked at it with a mix of affection and worry. Brittany didn't think she could do the charm as well as her friends, if at all. She was grateful that Santana and Luna were staying up late and risking detention to help her learn because she wanted to learn how to perform a patronus more than anything. She had never encountered a dementor, but she thought the charm was gorgeous and wanted to perform it more than anything.

Brittany closed her eyes and thought about Santana and Luna and how much they loved her. She thought about Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey, helping her out of her several magical accidents and she thought about Quidditch and then cried "Expecto Patronum!"

A few wisps of silvery vapour leaked from her wand before a silver duck burst from it and glided happily around the room. The three girls stared at it in shock before Santana started to laugh with glee. Brittany stared at her duck like she didn't know what to think, though she was certainly pleased with herself. Luna smiled and said "Well done!"

Brittany went and pulled the both of them into a huge hug.

000

Draco looked up from his potion again. He knew he was getting extremely distracted, and he knew Snape wouldn't hesitate to mark him down on his work. But, unlike last year, that didn't matter anymore. He had already hurt Katie Bell with that necklace and he didn't want to mess up again. But whatever part of his mind wasn't occupied with his new work was occupied with _her._

Draco had never felt the way he did for her. It was crazy and he felt so vulnerable all the time, thinking about her when he should be doing more important things. He would accept nearly anything as a valid way to distract himself from her. The new flood of emotion taking over his brain was as scary as hell and he just wanted to be Draco Malfoy, not the guy who follows _her _around, dedicating his life to _her _and doing whatever _she_ wants. But most of all, he didn't want to like it the way he thought he might.

She tucked a strand of her short, blonde hair behind her ear and looked up at the ingredients list again, looking perfectly calm in a dungeon of people silently losing their minds trying to accurately make a potion.

How on Earth did she do it?

She always seemed to calm, composed and in control. Whatever she was doing, she was just the boss. She owned everything around her. It was obvious she thought a lot of herself. On top of everything, she was a pure-blood. What more could Draco ever want? Certainly, no one else in the classroom could compare to her. Draco finally looked back down at his potion, which belched a cloud of foul smelling purple gas at him. He clenched his eyes shut and waited for embarrassment to set in.

"Mr. Malfoy."

Snape's low, dangerous voice filled the dungeon. Anyone who wasn't looking at him before had their eyes on him now, including her. His pale face flushed. It was rare that Snape ever confronted a Slytherin about their potion.

"It seems you let your potion brew a bit too long," Snape said. He just sounded angry, not like he was enjoying tormenting Malfoy like he did with the Gryffindor's.

"Yes, professor," Draco said angrily.

"Maybe, if you could take your eyes off Miss Fabray for more than a minute, you would have a more satisfactory result," he said, raising an eyebrow. A few people stifled chuckles. Quinn's expression didn't change at all, but a steady blush creeped up her face. She turned her face back to her probably perfect potion.

Draco finally got the nerve to look around at his classmates. No one seemed to care anymore, except Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman who were staring at him. Hudson merely looked confused and annoyed, but Puck looked like he wanted to force-feed Draco his ill-prepared potion.


	2. Even Though Love Can Get Messy

Wind whipped in Noah Puckerman's ears, as he soared around the Quidditch pitch, the screams and cheers of the school roaring in his ears. It was his very first game and he had been a bit nervous that morning, though he tried to hide it. He did seek help from Harry that morning and sat with him and his friends at breakfast that morning. It wasn't much help though; Ron was looking worse than Puck was and he was Harry's main focus - at least until Harry snuck him that lucky potion. While Hermione started to get anxious, Puck and Harry shared a discreet high five under the table.

Puck snapped out of his reminiscence of the morning when a bludger went zooming right over his left shoulder and skyrocketed towards Angelina. He chased after it at top speed and hit it so hard the thud was heard around the stadium. He beamed with pride as he heard that snotty Hufflepuff kid announce his name and what a particularly spectacular hit that was. That's what Puck heard at least. He raced off to seek more bludgers, his adrenaline racing. He looked up just in time to see Ron make an amazing save, barely catching the Quaffle with the tips of his fingers. Puck only knew Harry fairly well and hardly knew Ron at all, but from his brief knowledge of the boy matched with how utterly nervous Ron was this morning, he knew that save was something the Gryffindor's should be proud of. He fist pumped the air and grinned at Ron before racing after a bludger that one of the Slytherin team beaters had aimed at Ginny.

But a certain thought was eating away at Puck's mind - Malfoy. He knew that spoiled, snot-nosed ferret had eyes for Quinn, who was his girl, even though no one knew it yet. And all jealous feelings aside, he knew if Malfoy got too close to her, she would tell him about the baby. He knew Quinn was in no position to turn down sympathy wherever she could get it. Above all, Puck just wanted to be Quinn's boyfriend and the father of the kid, _his_ kid. He already had Finn in the way, he didn't need Malfoy there too. Even Puck couldn't deny that Malfoy and Quinn would be a great match and he didn't want her to realize it.

It had really deflated his spirits when he saw Malfoy wasn't playing that day. He was really looking forward to hitting a bludger straight at Malfoy's turned-up nose. Puck flew upwards and took his anger out on a bludger that wasn't heading anywhere in particular yet. He looked below him and tore out of the way as Harry and the Slytherin seeker whizzed past him, arms outstretched. He watched eagerly as Harry said something he couldn't hear that distracted the Slytherin. He turned around and Puck knew what was going to happen a second before it did. Harry thrusted forward and caught the snitch in his hand and the crowd let out a roar that hit Puck's eardrums like a tsunami.

"Yes! We won!" Puck said, fist pumping the air as he flew back down to the ground and hopped off his broom. He turned just in time to see Ginny crashing into the commentator's stand and collapse the whole thing, submerging Zacharias Smith in a huge pile of wood.

_That's what you get when you diss my team during a game, Smith!_ Puck thought triumphantly as all the team grabbed their brooms, laughing and whooping as they walked off the pitch amid cries of "Party in the Gryffindor common room!"

Puck changed as quickly as he could and speed walked out of the changing room, looking forward to the party that had surely already started.

"Well, if it isn't the new Gryffindor beater," said a malicious voice behind him. Puck whipped around to see Malfoy, flanked by a couple of random girls. Puck's mind was instantly ripped in half. Part of him cheered in a rather angry way and part of him wanted to tackle Malfoy. But above anything, he didn't like how Malfoy said "Gryffindor beater" like it was an insult.

"Yeah, that's right, Malfoy. Why'd you chicken out today? Afraid Potter would beat your ass?" Puck retorted angrily. Malfoy looked like he had just swallowed a lemon whole.

"Well, at least I don't fly like a sloth having an aneurysm. That's not proper form for a beater, is it Puckerman?" Malfoy said as a rather nasty grin spread across his face. Two things occurred to Puck at once. The first was how Malfoy was starting to look sick, he was pale and skinny and had dark circled starting to form under his eyes. The second was how much Puck wanted to hex him. The girls behind him giggled in a way that was hardly feminine.

"Shut up, Malfoy! You know I can jinx your ass so hard you won't be able to walk for a week!" Puck said. Now, instead of feeling like he could finally get back at Malfoy for liking Quinn, he was just angry. Malfoy scoffed.

"'Jinx my ass?'" he started sceptically, raising an eyebrow. "Please. The worst you could do is run to McGonagall like a first year girl." he said, chuckling to himself.

Every fibre of Puck's being told him to walk around and leave and go to the party and celebrate with Finn, Harry and Ginny. But instead, he lunged forwards and punched Malfoy hard on the face. The girls beside him looked anxious and annoyed, as if they wanted to do something, but they stayed rooted to the spot. Malfoy's knees nearly buckled and his hands flew up to his nose. He looked shocked more than anything and looked up at Puck with pure surprise etched upon his features. Puck was about to walk away until he saw a thin trickle of blood leak out from between Malfoy's fingers. The Gryffindor in him stopped him and it was more fear that McGonagall would punish him than guilt that made him pull out his wand and say "Episky" in a sore way. With a little snap, Malfoy's newly broken nose worked its way back to normal. He was still speechless, so Puck finished his work off with, "Next time you're about to insult a Gryffindor's flying skills, stop and think about what you're doing… and stay away from my girl," he added menacingly.

Noah Puckerman jogged back up to the castle, feeling more satisfied than he had in weeks.

000

Hermione walked as fast as she could out of the empty classroom. Angry, hurt tears were rolling down her cheeks. She knew she couldn't go back to the Gryffindor common room, the party was probably still going on and she didn't want to talk to Harry anymore. What just happened was too embarrassing. Why did she think it was okay to make those birds attack Ron? That was an awful thing to do, it didn't solve anything. She briefly considered going to Rachel, but she had never been comforted by the Slytherin girl before and she didn't know if being around Rachel would just make her feel worse or not. While Hermione felt awful, wrecked and jealous, she knew one thing. She wanted her place of comfort to be secure. Hermione turned a corner, heading towards one of the spare classrooms that they used to help Harry practice for the Tri-Wizard Tournament in their fourth year. Before she could reach it though, she heard a shrill, bossy voice ring out behind her.

"Hermione! I've been looking all over for you, I think I've found the solution to our-" Rachel said, but as Hermione turned around, she stopped dead in her tracks. The sound of footsteps in the corridor stopped and the scene grew silent, save for a small sniffle from Hermione.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked, her voice suddenly much softer and sympathetic. Hermione's eyes darted briefly to the boy who was standing silent next to Rachel before she looked at her friend. Hermione arched a hand up and wiped her own tears, trying to look a bit prouder than she felt.

"It's nothing really. It's a silly thing to be angry about," she said airily, although her voice quivered a little.

"Is it Ron?" Rachel asked. Her voice was still soothing, but Hermione thought that she was being rather blunt about things. But there was no reason to lie.

"Yes," Hermione said after a moment of hesitation. Rachel's eyes bore into Hermione's and pressed for more details. Hermione let out a sigh, feeling slightly back to her old self.

"He's been snogging Lavender Brown in the common room and he's just run into Harry and I with her," she said a bit stiffly. Rachel nodded sympathetically. The boy next to her was just looking at Hermione slightly skeptically. It was starting to get annoying.

"Actually Hermione, that's perfect. I think I've just found a solution to our boy problems. This is Kurt Hummel and I ran into him in the Slytherin common room today," Rachel said eagerly, smiling again.

The first thing Hermione noticed about Kurt was his Slytherin tie, then the pin he had fastened on his robes. Was that a tiny zebra head on it?

"Hello," Hermione said politely, but it was very clear she didn't know what to think of this stranger, especially since he was a Slytherin.

His method of examining Hermione was much different and took much longer, creating a gaping hole in their conversation. His eyes started at Hermione's feet and slowly glided up her entire body, finally resting on her hair. Hermione got the feeling that she was being severely judged. Rachel was watching them both eagerly.

"Have you ever thought about doing something with your hair?" Kurt Hummel said, which was, in Hermione's opinion, not a proper way to start a friendship with someone. A tiny part of her was mildly shocked about how high his voice was and she started to notice his incredibly feminine features in the dim light of the corridor. She was hardly being judgmental of him, just observing, when Rachel started to speak again with her almost annoying enthusiasm.

"I've kind of filled him in on everything that's been happening with us. Kurt tells me he's never had a boyfriend before, but I just _feel_ like he could help us find the right answer. I've always said there would be a sure-fire way to get those boys to like us and guess what?" Rachel asked, then ploughed on without waiting for either of them to say 'What?'.

"Kurt is Finn's step-brother! Well, almost. Their parents are dating, so he will be at some point. And Finn is friends with Ron and Harry, right? So Kurt will know about both of them. Right Kurt?" Rachel asked, looking eagerly at the boy. He raised an eyebrow at him.

"You can't expect too much from me, Rachel," he said coolly. Hermione was still unsure of what to think. He was so different, and he was a lot to take in, especially when one is tired and emotional and rather confused to begin with. "I have no experience. The best I can suggest right now is to make a love potion."

Kurt had intended it as a small joke and Hermione actually let out a little laugh that Kurt returned with a tiny smile. Their first brief moment of bonding was broken by Rachel reaching out and clutching the sleeve of Kurt's arm dramatically, her mouth open in shock.

"Kurt, that's perfect! Hermione, it's perfect. Why hadn't I thought about it before?" Rachel said excitedly. Hermione stared at her, thinking she must be joking. Kurt seemed to know that she wasn't and his eyes widened.

"Rachel, you can't do that. It was a joke, I was _joking_," Kurt said, as if repeating his words would knock the bad idea out of Rachel's head. Rachel seemed not to have heard at all.

"That would break a lot of rules, Rachel. I don't think you understand the repercussions of using a love potion, either. It's like… making someone lie to themselves about something really serious. We could get into a lot of trouble. And I don't mean to sound rude, but I think I'm the only one here who could make a working love potion and I won't do it," Hermione said, crossing her arms.

Kurt looked on at her with just a bit more respect than before. Kurt found Hermione refusing to make the potion rather interesting, if not respectable. Rachel seemed to have heard Hermione and said "But we don't have to make it. There's a cauldron of it sitting in Professor Slughorn's room."

Hermione just widened her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"No. No, no, no. Rachel, I am not letting you walk into a Professor's room and steal. That is only acceptable on certain occasions and your banged-up romantic life is no special occasion," Kurt said harshly. Hermione would have said it differently, but she had to agree with Kurt. Rachel was being insane. Rachel, seeing that Kurt would never agree with her decision, rounded on Hermione.

"Hermione, do you want Ron to love you or not?" Rachel said, and Hermione knew the answer, even though she didn't say anything. They stood staring at each other for a good thirty seconds before Kurt brought his hand up to his forehead.

"Oh god," he said. "I'm surrounded by idiots."


	3. Even Though Love Can Be Confusing

"You know, the hat really did consider putting me in Gryffindor, but I guess I was just a better fit for Ravenclaw," Artie Abrams said with a shrug.

Ginny Weasley was sitting on his lap as they rolled along, listening intently to his story for his experience under the Sorting Hat. The newly formed couple were exchanging stories of their first year as they made their way slowly but surely to Charms. Ginny didn't mind how slowly they were going; Artie was carrying her and both of their bags.

"The hat knew where to put me right away. Maybe cause it knew all my brothers. Ron got sorted the year before me, you know," Ginny said with a little toss of her bright red hair. "Do you want me to get off and push?" she asked gently, referring to his wheelchair.

Artie shook his head. "No, I've got it," he said, sounding extremely sure of himself and his capability to push loads around on his lap. Ginny nodded and wrapped one of her arms around Artie's neck. A faint bit of colour rose to Artie's cheeks and he grinned a shy little grin as they turned a corner into the Charms corridor.

"Artie, can I ask you something… a bit personal?" Ginny asked tentatively. Artie looked up at her, suddenly serious.

"Of course you can." he said, his voice extremely casual. Ginny looked up at the high ceiling and took a rather long pause.

"Have you ever thought of having your legs fixed? I mean, even if Madam Pomfrey couldn't do it, someone could. I mean… it's just a thought…" Ginny said. She hadn't really talked to Artie about his wheelchair but the curiosity was overwhelming her. It took a moment for her to look back down, she was rather nervous that he would be offended or upset with her. But when she did look back down, Artie was regarding her with an expression that was neither offended nor upset, but Ginny could tell he wasn't totally okay with the question. She had never really appreciated his ability to almost always stay calm until just then. He took a while to answer; just long enough to make sure Ginny was looking right into his eyes.

"Well, I'm a Muggle born, you know, so I guess… I just… when I got in that car accident, it was awful. But it kind of made me, like, me. I don't think I would be too different if it hadn't happened, but it did, and there was always the off chance that having legs would have given me the ability to hang out with the wrong crowd, and gotten in trouble all the time. Stuff like that doesn't really happen to teenagers in wheelchairs. But then I got invited to Hogwarts and I never… I never really paid attention afterwards. I almost forgot about it," he gave a little chuckle. Ginny noticed they had come to a complete standstill, but she didn't say anything.

"I don't really have a very good reason not to fix my legs…" Artie said, not quite sounding sad or mad, but rather like he was hiding his real feelings. It made Ginny upset, but she didn't feel as though there was anything she could do. Artie finally broke the silence by looking down and checking his bronze wristwatch.

"Crap, we're late for Charms!" Artie said and took off in a panic. Ginny was surprised at how fast they were going now. She didn't think it was possible when he was going so slowly before!

Both of their hearts suddenly stuttered as a secret passageway's door flew open almost directly in front of them and three girls burst out of it, hair in disarray, book bags flying about and smacking their thighs. They didn't notice Artie and Ginny until Artie - who was desperately trying to stop - crashed into the dark haired girl's legs. She let out a shriek and toppled over. The two blondes with her skidded to a stop and one of them hurried as fast as she could to help her friend up.

"San, San, are you okay?" she asked, grasping the Hispanic girl's hand and eagerly helping her up. The blonde had genuine concern etched on her features.

'San' didn't say anything as she stood up, but her hair was even messier than before. Ginny stared at them all in shock, her mouth open and her hands gripping Artie's shirt apprehensively.

"I am so sorry," Artie said sincerely right away. When San looked up, the blonde backed away fast and Ginny could see why. She looked beyond ready to whip her wand out right there and duel Artie.

"You had _better_ be sorry," she said dangerously, leaning forward with her finger raised up by her face. Ginny knew right then that she wanted no part of this girl and her newly formed judgements were hardened when she saw that San wore a Slytherin tie around her neck.

"I really am. I promise it won't happen again," Artie said, shaking his head and looking up at her with eyes full of nothing but a pure desire for peace. Ginny wondered how he could do it, and her respect for her boyfriend grew.

San seemed to calm down just a bit, seeing as she didn't want to fight as much as she did before. The same blonde friend that helped her up, gently grabbed the sleeve of her robes and tugged it like a little child would.

"San, we're late. We need to go," she said in a small, but certainly not timid, voice. At the touch of her friend, San seemed to calm down even more and nodded. She stalked off with her friend, who Artie noticed had a Hufflepuff tie as a substitute for a belt. The third girl, whose most remarkable feature was her big, nearly bulging eyes, walked over to them. Ginny recognized her as Luna Lovegood and almost immediately and smiled.

"Hello, Luna," she said with a grin. Luna grinned back at her, and waved her hand as if Ginny was far away and she was trying to catch her attention. Artie was a little taken aback since it didn't take a first introduction to know this girl was a bit strange, but Ginny was totally unfazed.

"How have you been?" Ginny asked in a pleasant tone.

Luna considered what to say for a bit before she said, "I'm fine, classes have been fun. I haven't heard anyone call me 'Loony' in over a week." She said this all in a perfectly casual voice and Artie's attention was captured.

Ginny nodded. "That's great. Why are you hanging out with those two girls?"

"Santana and Brittany?" Luna asked, as if they knew the girls names. Ginny just went along with it and nodded. Luna looked over her shoulder at the spot where the girls had run away.

"They're rather nice people. Brittany isn't very smart, but she's wise. And Santana's just bad at making first impressions. She's a bit angry, but she means well. To some people," Luna said.

Ginny didn't want to believe this, seeing as she already had it set in her mind that Santana would persist with being mean longer than just a few minutes, but she was in no position to tell Luna she was wrong. Luna suddenly turned to Artie, and he was quickly taken over by the feeling that if Luna spoke even a single word he wouldn't know what to say in response.

"I did mean what I said. I'm sure if you were around Santana longer, the both of you would grow rather fond of her. But I'm late for charms," she said, before turning.

"Actually, that's where we were heading," Artie said, thinking he sounded rather stupid, although he hadn't said anything out of the ordinary. Ginny started to feel very heavy on his lap. Luna gave a half smile.

"Delightful," she said, and headed off down the corridor with a slightly confused Ginny and a very confused and dumbstruck Artie.

000

Blaine slowly walked up the cool, stone spiral staircase to the Gryffindor's boys dormitory for his free period. Usually he spent his free time out on the grounds with Seamus, Dean and Sam but today he was tired and was looking forward to an hour of lying sprawled on his bed. He was also looking forward to forgetting the thoughts of Harry Potter playing in his head. It wasn't as if he thought about Harry this obsessively every day. He didn't always mess up his potions in Snape's class because he couldn't stop thinking about Harry. He didn't always run into walls or people in the hallways.

That morning, he had been checking his schedule in the hall and he ran headfirst into Harry, who was flanked on either side by Ron and Hermione. Both of the dark haired boys spilled their things and both dropped to their knees and scrambled to fix the damage. Blaine's heart went racing as their hands collided. He felt awkward blushing and smiling when all Harry did was clear his throat, but he didn't care. He was used to one sided reactions like this, especially since he was crazy about Harry and the most contact he had ever had with the boy was an occasional friendly wave at the dinner table. Harry's black ink slowly started to seep over everything, and Hermione pulled out her wand to fix the damage as Harry cursed quietly.

"No, I've got it," Blaine found himself saying as he pulled out his wand and vanished the ink. Hermione tucked her wand back away and looked down at Blaine with a mildly impressed expression and Harry grinned.

"Thanks," Harry said as he grabbed the last of his papers and got up. Blaine didn't say anything as he saw that he had accidentally vanished a few letters from one of Harry's essays. But then, the trio of friends hurried off and Blaine was left with nothing to do but think about how warm Harry's hand had felt for the rest of the day.

He walked into his dormitory and went straight to his bed. He pushed the curtains aside and sat down to take off his shoes. When Blaine looked up he noticed that he wasn't alone in the room.

"Hello Neville," he said politely and Neville Longbottom looked up from the rather heavy and old book he was reading and gave a wave.

"Hello Blaine."

"What's that you're reading?"

"Oh, nothing. It's about Herbology. I don't think you would be interested," Neville said. Blaine had no statements to contradict this, seeing as Herbology was his least favourite subject.

"So… what have you been up to?" Neville asked. In the short silence between sentences, Blaine had started to let his mind wander, and replied with something very unintentional.

"Oh, Har-" There was a very short, tense pause before Blaine corrected himself with "I meant nothing. Oh, nothing."

Even though Blaine's voice was calm and smooth, so much that anyone would suspect he made a simple mistake, Neville had been rooming with Blaine for the last six years and knew he said something he shouldn't have. When Blaine looked up from his shoelaces, his face blank and unblushing, his mind reeled into panic when he saw the look Neville was giving him. While Neville didn't look upset, he looked confused and almost surprised.

"Were you about to say Harry?" Neville asked. After two seconds of silent, expressionless panic, Blaine reminded himself Neville had no idea he was head-over-heels for Harry and probably didn't even know Blaine's sexual orientation.

"No," Blaine said calmly, a small, nervous smile on his face. Neville raised an eyebrow.

"I swear to God, you almost said Harry," Neville said. Blaine was about to protest when Harry himself walked into the room with the sole intention of grabbing the Snitch he caught in the last Quidditch match to play with Ron, and causing Blaine to jump a foot off his bed in surprise. This caused Neville to look from Harry to Blaine and back, completely confused. Colour flooded Blaine's cheeks as Harry gave them both a strange look, grabbed his Snitch, and gave a little wave as he left the room.

"Blaine?" Neville asked slowly as Blaine curled up into a ball on his bed.

"Yeah?"

"Do you like Harry?"

"…"

"Blaine?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."


	4. Even Though Love Can Make You Vulnerable

"Rachel, this is insane. _You. Are. Insane_," Kurt hissed as quietly as he could as they snuck across the dark, empty Potions classroom in the early hours of the morning. Kurt was dreading the morning where Draco, Pansy and the other Slytherin's would be sure to notice he wasn't as well-groomed as usual. He wouldn't have time to do his hair, or moisturize, or finish Snape's essay. Kurt was fairly fond of Snape and vice versa and he saw how Snape treated the students he didn't like. Kurt wanted to take every precaution he could to stay on Snape's good side.

But now, he was sneaking into a classroom to steal a love potion for a girl he hardly knew and Rachel Berry, for God's sake.

"_Shhh, _Kurt, you have to _be quiet!"_ Rachel said furiously, her wand lit up in front of her as she approached the cauldron full of love potion. An almost maniac smile spread across her face. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"There's no one here," he said, walking up behind her. She shot him a nasty look.

"Where's the flask Hermione gave us?" Rachel asked, and Kurt pulled it out of his robes with a flick of his hand.

"Why couldn't you have brought her here instead of me?" he asked in an annoyed tone. Rachel shot him another angry look, which he had grown used to throughout the night.

"Hermione's still feeling guilty and confused about her decision. But I say if she keeps seeing Ron and Lavender Brown kissing, she'll do it either way. Anyway, I don't know how good she is at sneaking around," Rachel said. Kurt raised an eyebrow at her and pursed his lips as she started to fill the flask.

"First of all, I can't see why anyone would fall in love with a _Weasley._ Second, are you assuming that I can sneak around just because I'm in Slytherin?" he asked.

"Yes," Rachel said without hesitation, not looking up from the cauldron. Kurt raised both his eyebrows at that. He wanted to tell Rachel that she shouldn't be prejudiced towards her own house, but it was true. He was fairly good at sneaking around. Rachel straightened up and put a stopper in the flask. She looked at Kurt expectantly, waiting for confirmation that he would follow her out.

"You go ahead and back to bed. I'll be right there," Kurt said, gesturing towards the door. Rachel nodded and crossed the room, slipping out the door. Kurt turned back to the table full of simmering potions and pulled a tiny flask out of the inside of his robes. He walked slowly to the other side of the table, completely unsure of what he was about to do.

Kurt walked up to the potion he was looking for. He illuminated his wand tip and stared the little cauldron full of sloshing golden liquid. Everything inside told him that it was wrong to take the potion, but he _wanted_ it. Kurt sighed and filled his flask with Felix Felicis before hurrying out of the Potions room, his robes whipping behind him as he turned at the door.

000

"I still can't believe that brute Gryffindor would punch you," Pansy Parkinson simpered at the Slytherin table two mornings after the Quidditch match, a smug-looking Draco sitting by her side. He sighed dramatically and she batted her eyelashes, looking entirely spellbound.

"Yeah… if it weren't for my jelly-legs jinx I think I might have had more than just a broken nose," he said. He was sure the majority of Slytherin table could hear, especially Quinn, who was sitting across from him to the left with a plate of untouched bacon and toast in front of her, her nose buried in the Daily Prophet. He shot her a quick, unnoticed glance before looking over at the Gryffindor table, where Harry had nearly spat out his coffee at a joke Puck had just told. Hermione rolled her eyes at the both of them and Draco felt hatred boil in his chest. He returned his attention to Pansy before any of his emotions could find his face.

"Tell the story again, Draco!" she said, apparently enthralled. A part of Draco wanted to curse Pansy just to make her let him alone, but the bigger part of him wanted to impress Quinn, and he was going to do so the only way he knew how.

"Well, Puckerman confronted me after the Quidditch match," Quinn was staring now. She didn't look impressed yet, but he had her attention so Draco went on. "He started to _try_ and provoke me about how, unfortunately, I couldn't manage to fly that day. I tried to tell him to back off - I wasn't in the mood for a duel right then. After a few more words, he just tried to attack me! It was certainly a surprise, even though he is a Gryffindor, I at least expected him to _attempt_ to be civil. He managed to get my nose, and I started bleeding, it was clearly broken. He tried to hit me again, but I pulled out my want fast enough to jinx him and I made my way up to the castle before he could figure out how to fix himself."

Pansy cackled with laughter as Draco finished, gently easing a hand onto his arm. Draco let his eyes flick to Quinn, who was staring at him with a look that plainly said, "I think you're lying and I also think you're a tool, but I'm still curious".

After a few minutes, Pansy excused herself to the ladies room and Draco finally let his shoulders fall, watching her leave. As soon as Pansy was out of sight, Quinn slid along the bench till she was directly in front of Draco. She leaned forward and he mirrored her, not sure exactly what was going on. Actually, at that precise moment, Draco's only focus was how good Quinn looked with a headband in her short, blonde hair.

"After breakfast, you're going to meet me in the corridor down by the Hufflepuff common room and tell me how much of that story was true," she whispered in her soft, nasal voice.

"Or I could tell you now," Draco said, raising an eyebrow. Quinn looked at him as if he was a moron again.

"If it was worth it to lie as much as you just did, you won't want to say it here."

Draco took out his wand under the table and whispered 'Muffliato', a spell he had caught Harry using on multiple occasions. It didn't take him long to figure out what it did. Quinn's look softened as she realized what he just did.

"Tell me why you want to know the truth," Draco said, a smirk playing about his face. Quinn couldn't lie to herself, it was handsome. But she still wanted to smack it off his face.

"Because I have a lot to lose right now," Quinn said. Draco's eyes pressed for details. "And a lot of it is riding on Puck."

"I wouldn't have invested 'a lot' in a Gryffindor," Draco said, leaning forward a bit. Quinn suddenly looked furious.

"Well I did, and apparently someone as arrogant as you wouldn't understand."

That hurt like an arrow shot in Draco's chest, so he told the truth then and there.

"I confronted Puckerman after the match and I provoked him, but he was as nasty as I was. He punched me and he did break my nose, but he fixed it himself before running away. You should know he's an ape, Miss Fabray, and I would take away whatever you invested in him as soon as possible."

The sheer fact that Quinn couldn't take 'it' away, and that yesterday she found out that her 'it' was a 'she' brought tears to her eyes.

"I have to go." she said, her voice sounding clogged. She grabbed her dragon-hide book bag and slid off the bench before hurrying out of the Great Hall. Two pairs of eyes followed her from the hall, both somewhat confused and taking a bit of her pain into their own hearts. One Gryffindor, one Slytherin.

But once again, Draco was disgraced by his owl flying in far later than the other mail owls. He swooped down to the Slytherin table and held out his leg in a way that was even more dignified than the other owls. There was no letter, but a small pouch that Draco knew would contain a thin, cocoa coloured powder that would be all too easy to slip into a bottle of mead and somehow get to Dumbledore…

Draco temporarily forgot about girls as he thought of the grim future in front of him and how he needed to make a new plan before the fast-approaching Christmas holidays.


	5. Even Though Love Can Be Unexpected

"So… you have been invited, right?" Ginny asked Artie as they sat in a small secret passageway Ginny had found. Artie, who had been conjuring golden bubbles out of thin air, looked down.

"Invited to what?" he asked. The bubbles popped in midair as he focused his attention on his girlfriend. They locked eyes for a few seconds before Ginny looked back down to her potions essay and said, "Slughorn's Christmas party."

Artie smiled. "Oh yeah. Of course I have. Christmas break is like… two weeks away, right?"

Ginny nodded, desperately trying to divide her attention between her homework and Artie, who had already finished all of his assignments.

"So that makes the party next Wednesday. Cool," Artie said, staring to conjure birds instead. They flew around the room, chirping and swooping around the dim, narrow corridor. Ginny smiled appreciatively up at them. She envied Artie's ability to do all his homework and pass every class with flying colours while still managing to find the time to teach himself all the little, useless but amusing spells he constantly put on show.

"What do you think of Slughorn?" Artie asked, vanishing the birds and made sparks shoot out of his wand and form little faces.

Ginny shrugged. "He's a Slytherin, but he's not really mean or anything… he sure cares about himself, though. Not in the good way, either. But he could be a lot worse…"

Artie nodded. "I don't like him too much either. There's just something about him that really, like, just makes me mad."

Artie paused for a second, deciding whether or not he should ask the question that had been bothering him for the past few days. Actually, it was a certain thought that was bothering him. A certain thought of a certain person that just wouldn't leave him alone.

"How did you meet Luna Lovegood?" he asked, trying to come off as casual as possible. Ginny looked up at him, wondering what brought on that question. She sighed and set down her quill.

"Well, she's in my year and everyone kind of knows about her. She says crazy things and she does crazy things and we all think she's a bit mad, but she's really nice. I saw some boys picking on her in fourth year and I stood up for her and we've been sort of distant friends ever since."

Ginny shrugged a bit, and Artie nodded, trying to look like he wasn't completely entranced with what she was saying.

Yes, Luna did seem a bit off when he had met her, but she didn't seem mentally ill. She just seemed… silly. In her own little world.

But whatever Luna Lovegood was like, Artie knew he was thinking about her too much. He had only met her once, had no real emotion towards her except pure curiosity, and yet he couldn't get her off his mind. Ginny was about to ask Artie why he wanted to know more about Luna just as the tapestry blocking the passage swung open and Harry, Hermione, and another Gryffindor boy Artie didn't know walked in, all arguing. Artie and Ginny's attention turned to them immediately, but the three Gryffindor's didn't see them right away.

"Listen, now you're getting people we hardly know tangled up in this Half-Blood Prince thing, and it could be really-" Hermione said in a shrill voice, but Harry cut her off.

"I didn't tangle anyone up in anything, Hermione. I was just practicing the spell, I wasn't even aiming at anything and Blaine just walked in the door and got in the way!"

"But you still shouldn't be practicing-"

Blaine suddenly cleared his throat very loudly. Harry and Hermione stopped arguing and looked at Blaine.

"Ok, I have two things to say. First, Hermione, Harry didn't tangle me up in anything besides my own robes."

Blaine had, indeed, walked in on Harry practicing the Levicorpus spell from his potions book on nothing in particular, seeing if it would raise things other than humans. It didn't work, but Blaine had walked in the door and in front of Harry's wand just in time to be hoisted up in the air. He wasn't upset or offended, just extremely confused as to why Hermione and Harry thought it was such a huge deal.

"I don't even know what's going on right now. And if this is as big of a deal as you guys are making it seem, I'm sure you'll be able to work it out." He rested a hand on Hermione's shoulder and smiled at her. She sighed and folded her arms against her chest and Harry ran a hand through his hair.

"And second of all, we're not alone in here," Blaine said, gesturing to Ginny and Artie sitting there. Ginny suddenly felt rather exposed as Harry and Hermione whipped around.

Harry was extremely embarrassed about yelling in front of Ginny, who he was beginning to want to make a good impression all the time. She merely waved at the both of them. "Hey Harry. Hey Hermione. And… Blaine? Is it?" Ginny asked rather calmly.

Blaine nodded, smiling charming smile at her. "Pleasure to meet you."

Hermione had gone rather pink in the face and didn't seem to be able to speak quite yet. She didn't like being caught yelling, especially about something she wanted to keep as secret as possible. Ginny kept talking though, trying to keep the atmosphere calm as possible.

"Guys, this is my boyfriend Artie. You probably haven't met him, he's in Ravenclaw." Ginny said, and Blaine and Hermione gave him little waves.

Artie waved back and smiled at them. "It's nice to meet you all," he said politely.

The first thing Harry noticed was his wheelchair, and the first thing Artie noticed about Harry was his scar. But while Artie was delighted to meet Harry Potter, no matter how much he was yelling at first, Harry felt a bit resentful towards Artie right away. Anyone who was dating Ginny must have something that he didn't, and he felt jealous straight away. However, he knew that Artie would probably be a fairly nice boy which made him even more upset. He looked over at Hermione, who was only looking slightly less embarrassed, and Blaine, who was looking perfectly at ease.

He took only a second longer to look at Blaine, wondering how he and Ginny and that Artie kid could be so calm. But Blaine noticed Harry looking, and looked back at Harry, the tiniest, shyest grin on his face. His eyes almost looked bigger than usual, and they were focused on Harry and filled with some emotion he couldn't quite place. Something about it made him uneasy, and he looked away, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

_I just caught Harry Potter staring at me, _Blaine thought, and a strange euphoria filled him. He didn't even care that the same Harry Potter had magically flipped him upside down and into the air by his ankle just a while earlier with a spell he read from a used potions book.

An almost uneasy silence fell over them before Hermione cleared her throat.

"Well, we should be going. We didn't mean to interrupt," Hermione said, grabbing Harry by the arm and leading him out. Ginny and Artie waved goodbye, and Harry almost grabbed Blaine's arm to lead him out as well, but remembered Blaine's sappy gaze and snapped his arms back to his side. Blaine noticed Harry's two second almost-grab for his arm and nearly floated out of the room.

The sudden entrance by Harry, Blaine, and Hermione drove the thought of Luna Lovegood out of Artie and Ginny's mind, at least temporarily.

000

Luna Lovegood was sitting alone at the Ravenclaw table for dinner, a new edition of the Quibbler in her lap. No one was bothering to talk to her, but there was no one in particular she wanted to talk to, so she didn't mind. As she flipped the page to a quiz that would determine whether or not you would be more likely to attract Nargles than the next person, a boy sat down next to her. Luna had seen him before in the common room and in classes; he was a year ahead of her. She didn't know his name, but had seen him on the ground hanging out with some other Slytherin boys. She supposed he didn't have any real Ravenclaw friends though, because no one ever bothered to sit next to her. He didn't talk to her either, so it couldn't be some sort of teasing or practical joke. She started the quiz as the boy started to pile some food onto his plate.

Luna wasn't really watching him, but she was very aware of him. No one had sat that close to her at dinner for a long time. She noticed that he seemed to really like chicken and potatoes, and he really had no desire to talk to anyone. About halfway through being distracted from her quiz Luna got a strong craving for the pumpkin juice just on the other side of the boy. She gave him a polite little glance before reaching across him and grabbing the jug. He gave her a quizzical look but didn't say anything. As she reached back across him, he leaned forward at precisely the wrong moment. The jug knocked against his chest and her wrist dropped, spilling the pumpkin juice all over his lap.

"Hey!" he yelled angrily as Luna quickly put the jug on the table and whipped her wand out. A few people were looking at them curiously. The boy was obviously uncomfortable under the gaze of the five people paying them any attention. However, their fellow students looked away as soon as Luna used her wand to siphon the juice out of his robes and back into the jug.

"I'm sorry about that. I'm Luna Lovegood," she said, holding out her slender, pale hand. He shook it with his big, beefy hand, still looking rather grumpy.

"I know who you are," he said, hoping it would have some sort of effect on her. However, Luna didn't even bat an eyelash.

"Well, I would rather like to know your name," she said calmly. The boy looked at her with a mixture of confusion and annoyance now.

"Dave Karofsky," he said. Luna smiled at her, and Dave had to fight the urge to smile back.

Throughout dinner, Luna persisted at striking up a conversation and Dave didn't have any reason to refuse to talk to her. He slowly started to go along with what she was saying, and started to offer the occasional laugh, then started to reply to what she was saying. He found her rather pleasant to talk to, and she was so strange herself that she had no time to be judgmental.

That was what Dave was really afraid of, judgement. He could say he had friends, Slytherin friends, who were funny enough and didn't make fun of him. But he didn't want to get close to anyone really, because he had a secret he'd like to keep. He didn't want to relax around anyone to the point he'd tell them, because he didn't think it was okay for others to know. People would change when he found out his secret. They would get uncomfortable, or start ignoring him, and then he _really _wouldn't have any friends. What Dave had was better than no friends at all, right?

But that's what he liked about Luna. It was as if she didn't care much about anything if it wasn't strange and exciting. Dave didn't find himself to be strange or exciting at all, yet somehow it worked out. Maybe it was the fact Dave didn't like too much attention and that Luna was talking about strange creatures rather than asking about him, and he liked that. Maybe it was that Luna liked a quiet audience, and someone to listen rather than to talk and tell her she was wrong.

Either way, the two fit like puzzle pieces from the start.

"I have two friends I'd like you to meet," Luna said at the end of dinner. Dave swallowed his drink and looked curiously at her.

"Are they girls?" he asked. Luna nodded.

"They seem odd at first, but they're good friends. I think you'll like Brittany better. She's a Hufflepuff," Luna said. Dave still looked on curiously.

"Are they both in Hufflepuff?"

"No. Santana's in Slytherin." Luna said. Dave relaxed a bit. Unlike most other students in Hogwarts, he felt more comfortable around Slytherin's. He felt protected around them, knowing they would bully anyone that got in their way and if he got close enough to them, _his _way. But he was kind of afraid he would grow too close to Luna and her friends, not because of his secret, but because they were girls. Being as big and buff as he was, his Slytherin friends would probably abandon him if they knew he was friends with girls. He needed a night just to think all this out.

But he couldn't explain why he needed so much time to think over everything to Luna in the short amount of time before dinner and curfew, so he had no reason not to go with her to meet her friends.

"They'll be around here. They're always around here at this time of night," Luna said as she and Dave walked through the dim, moonlit corridor with occasional open doors leading to the courtyard. He saw a glowing light ahead, and Luna seemed to see it too because she walked right ahead. It was coming from one of the open doorways, and Dave saw the flick of a long, silver tail and suddenly grew very curious. They approached the door and saw two girls sitting in it. From the way they were approaching he could only see one of their faces.

The first thing he noticed about her was her Slytherin tie, then her extremely tender expression. He could tell it wasn't an expression she wore often, but it suited her very well. They both turned to look at Luna, then Dave. Dave looked up, however, and saw the two girls' patronuses. There was a rather large panther and a little duck, looking far too pleased to be around the other. Their patronuses flickered and went out as they were presented with the distraction of the two friends.

"Hey, Luna," Brittany said, although she was craning her neck to look at Dave. Luna gave her a little wave and Santana jerked her head by means of a nod.

"I have someone I want you to meet. This is Dave. I met him at dinner and he's rather nice. Santana, he says he likes to be friends with Slytherin's. But Brittany, it seems as if he'd get along better with you," Luna said with a kind tone, and Dave suddenly felt uncomfortable. All of what she said was true of course, but he didn't feel as if it needed saying out loud.

"Luna, he's a _boy._ You both should know I'm fine with boys, but as a friend? Boys are just for good sex and good chocolate," Santana said. Dave was simultaneously impressed by her bluntness and offended by her generalization of boys.

"You must have not met many decent guys then," Dave said with an almost accusatory tone, as if Santana wasn't looking hard enough for good boys. She looked extremely angry and offended for about two seconds before her face spread into an almost wicked smile.

"I like this kid," she said with a tone that could be dubbed as motherly if it wasn't so polluted by the expression on her face. Brittany smiled and turned to look at him.

While Santana's gaze made Dave feel like he was being silently criticized, Brittany's soft look made him feel warm and comfortable. He liked her already. He wasn't sure how he felt about Santana. He looked at Luna for encouragement and she gave him a little nod.

"Hi, Brittany," he said, and she smiled at him.

"Hi Dave. Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Do you like cats?"


	6. Even Though Love Can Change Your Views

The Quidditch match drama had long passed and it had been a week and a half since the all too embarrassing incident where Harry, Hermione and that Blaine Anderson had been caught by Ginny and Artie Abrams having a fight.

Harry sat in charms class feeling confused as he usually did lately. Between worrying about the meetings he was having with Dumbledore and the memories he had seen, the latest of which involved a young Tom Riddle living in an orphanage. He had already told Ron and Hermione about it and Ron never stopped asking about it while Hermione just looked concerned. Harry had to agree that learning about Voldemort's past was telling him a lot about the future he would have to give in to - and it didn't sound pleasant at all.

Ron and Hermione were still quarrelling and Hermione going to Slughorn's Christmas party with Cormac McLaggen didn't help. He thought she should have been smarter than that and just gone with Ron. He didn't mind going with Luna of course, but it was still a last resort option.

What was troubling Harry the most was what he had overheard Snape saying to Draco. This proved Draco must be up to something, if Snape was offering to help him and Draco said he was 'chosen'. Harry figured that it must mean something about Voldemort and it was driving him mad that no one believed him or cared. He had told Ron, but hadn't had the chance to tell Hermione yet. He planned on doing so as soon as possible, especially since they were going away for the Christmas break the day after tomorrow. He found it irritating to have to split his time between his two friends and was glad to be going back to the Burrow.

But what was immediately troubling him was Ginny. He knew there was nothing he could do to impress her or anything while she was still dating Artie, and he wished Ron would give his approval of them so Harry wouldn't have that on his conscious. He felt that Ron would become awkward or distant if Harry started dating his sister. Harry would choose to be around Ron of course, but at the rate he was falling for Ginny, he didn't know how long that answer would remain the same.

But something else was nagging at him, and that something was Blaine Anderson. He suddenly seemed to be _everywhere._ Harry knew Blaine wasn't following him or anything, but suddenly he stood out in a crowd. That just made Harry feel awkward, because he had never even noticed Blaine before. But after running into Ginny and Artie and seeing the extremely sappy way Blaine was looking at him, he suddenly became a very real part of Harry's life. Those big, hazel eyes were always looking at him and every time Harry looked back he would just duck his head and look back at whatever he was doing, smiling softly to himself. Funnily enough, that was _exactly_ the way he wanted Ginny to look at him, and that made Harry feel extremely uncomfortable.

He almost didn't want to believe what was becoming increasingly obvious, that Blaine was gay. Harry had absolutely nothing against gay people and thought they were all perfectly fine, but that was just too much for him. Harry was working with one of the most famous wizards of all time to destroy one of the darkest wizards of all time, had two best friends who wouldn't come within ten feet of each other, was falling in love with his best friends sister and now had a boy that he hardly knew looking at him with puppy eyes and blushing every time their eyes met.

He felt a bit taken off guard by it too - he had been rooming with Blaine for six years and he hadn't noticed? Blaine certainly wasn't obvious but the more Harry thought about it, the more obvious it seemed. That felt like a small but significant, blow to his powers of observation. He sighed and looked down at the pair of pants he was supposed to be teaching to do an Irish jig.

"Harry. Harry!" Ron said from next to him. Harry snapped his head up and looked at Ron with a questioning expression, just as Professor Flitwick stopped talking.

"Did you catch any of that, mate?" he asked, looking slightly amused. Harry shook his head. Ron sighed and looked down at his pair of pants.

"Well, I think we're supposed to be twisting our hand about like this to do it…" Ron swirled his hand above his pants, but did it a bit too hard. His wand flew out of his hand and hit Harry on the chest, and his robes turned purple. Ron and Harry looked at each other for about two seconds, looking seriously surprised, before they both started laughing. Everyone was looking at them, because it really wasn't that funny, but Harry didn't care. His robes were purple, Ron was laughing with him, and it felt like a great weight was being lifted off his chest. He looked up to see Hermione looking at them, obviously jealous, and Blaine looking at him with an expression that clearly said 'I'm happy because you're happy and you're adorable'.

That immediately stopped Harry's laughing, and Ron only sobered up when he saw Hermione's pair of pants dancing merrily on her desk. He was rather sour for the rest of the day.

000

Quinn Fabray was walking through the corridors during her free period, her emotions hidden behind a blank face. Finn was such an idiot; he had no idea how to raise a baby. She thought he was cute at best, but totally clueless. Quinn knew she wanted to give her baby up, her little girl, but a tiny, little, secret part of her heart wanted someone to convince her to keep it. Puck really seemed like the person to do that.

But she still wasn't sure. Finn would never be able to raise a baby and she had been avoiding him for that reason. She hadn't spoken to him in the past week and she was sure he must be wondering why. She was sure he was on the verge of breaking up with her and she intended to keep him thinking Puck's baby girl was his. He was a serious social status symbol for her and there was no way she would let herself crash. She was feared, and while a part of her hated it, she really wanted it to stay that way. People parted for her to walk in the corridors, and she thought there was no better feeling.

She wasn't stupid; she knew Hogwarts had a history of good kids. Everyone who had gone bad had _really_ started to go bad after their seventh year, and not many children at the school got into trouble for things that weren't noble or for a greater cause. So getting pregnant is unexpected to say the least, and that knowledge would make her an outcast. Quinn Fabray was determined to never become an outcast.

She really hated to admit it to herself, but with the way things were going, Quinn felt like she might start wanting to place her trust in Draco Malfoy. It was obvious he was head over heels for her, whether she liked it or not, and he was at least willing to tell the truth to her. Puck was such a _Gryffindor,_ and while he might be brave he was also stubborn and criticized Finn's lack of parenting skills to make himself feel better. While that was attractive in a strange way, it bothered Quinn. She did like Puck, love him almost, and wanted to believe he would be the perfect father. But she could see that getting messy. No one would believe a Gryffindor and a Slytherin had a child together, and if she did keep the baby it would be under a lot of pressure to be either Gryffindor or Slytherin, her mother or her father, and Quinn knew what she wanted for her daughter. But Puck, would of course, disagree. He would disagree when Quinn told him it was time to change the baby; he would disagree when Quinn would say she looked more like her; he would disagree when she said babies shouldn't have sweets so early and everything would be a pain. While her heart fluttered every time she saw Puck walking down the halls, she had her doubts.

But Draco, even though he could be such a whining brat, at least seemed more mature. He made stupid jokes about Potter and his friends, so what? He came from a long line of respected wizards and witches, so he must at least know _some _things. True, Quinn had no reason in particular for liking him, but she couldn't see him fighting over a baby. She could see him being calm and rational, or at least being too tired to go against her. Quinn was smart enough to know she couldn't just take fathering duties and dump them on Draco, but she knew with time and care he would agree.

She turned another corridor, walking down to the kitchens. She felt comfortable there. The house elves were so cheery, and willing to accept anyone for who they were, and so good at making crepes, which was Quinn's favourite food at the moment. As she was walking, she passed Professor Slughorn's room and almost stopped dead in her tracks. Draco was there, a bottle of mead in his shaky hands and a determined expression on his face. Quinn smiled, seeing a bright window of opportunity opening in front of her.

"Draco," she said, walking over to him. He whipped around and saw her, his face turned from positively terrified to extremely relieved within a few seconds and it made Quinn very curious as to what he was doing. She knew, however, if she asked she might ruin the moment.

"Hello, Quinn," he said, and she noticed he looked rather ill. He was white as a sheet and the circles under his eyes were standing out more than ever before. He seemed to have broken out into cold sweat just moments before she arrived. But he kept a straight face, and so did she.

"What brings you around here?" he asked, keeping the conversation flowing smoothly although he didn't want to be talking at all.

He had just been to sneak out of the castle, buy the book in Hogsmeade that Professor Slughorn had wanted to buy Dumbledore for Christmas and his back-up option of a new golden telescope, very expensive and the only one in the shop. It was a tricky plan, because he had to keep Slughorn up all night with a little charm to put a loud ringing in someone's ears as they're about to fall asleep that he administered during the term's last potions class. It would make him so tired he wouldn't want to stay in Hogsmeade and finish his shopping for Dumbledore. Then Draco would place the poisoned mead inside his classroom so he would just take it as a good gift and head to bed.

He was about to finish up, but Quinn interrupted at the most crucial time, because Slughorn could have returned any minute. But he didn't want to ignore her, and he was captivated by her eyes.

"Oh, I was just heading down somewhere. And I was thinking… would you like to come with me?" she asked, making a tiny bit of a hidden intention appear in her words.

Draco wanted to more than anything, right then. She was like a ray of sunshine to him, illuminating his world when there was nothing but a dark year and future ahead of him. He hated himself for thinking like that, but he was past the denial stage. It was true, and real, but he had a job to do.

"I would love to. I just have to drop off this Christmas present for Professor Slughorn," Draco said calmly, holding up the bottle.

Quinn raised an eyebrow, but she nodded and he slipped into the classroom. Draco's footsteps echoed around the empty room and he walked over to Slughorn's desk before putting down the bottle. It took a while for him to let go of it, he knew as soon as he did, Dumbledore's fate went out of his hands and into Slughorn's. He stared at the bottle with his mouth open slightly, as if he was going to try to talk himself out of it. But he just let go of the bottle, his sweaty hand shaking, then he walked out and returned to Quinn.

"Thanks for waiting," Draco said, and Quinn saw that something inside the room had really shaken him, but she still didn't ask.

"No problem, it was only about thirty seconds," she said, with a little smile. Draco started to feel better already. She started to walk and he took his cue from her and walked next to her.

"So where are we going?" Draco asked, trying to look at anything but Quinn. He was trying not to be obvious that he was thrilled to be in her company, and he thought he was doing a decent job. Quinn, however, thought it was rather cute he was trying to cover up his feelings. She had to suppress a giggle.

"Well, I was heading down the kitchens," she said. Draco nearly stopped in his tracks.

"The kitchens? Why would you want to go down there?" he asked. Quinn, who hadn't stopped walking at all, gave him a look that said nothing except 'Don't question me'.

"I like it there. The house elves are free of judgement and they make me whatever food I want," Quinn said. Draco really had no desire to go down to the kitchens, but if Quinn invited him somewhere he would go. Well, not everywhere, but going to the kitchens would be a simple ordeal and maybe she would like him a bit more. He sighed and followed her.

"What?" she asked bossily upon hearing him sigh. "Do you have something against house elves?"

"They're just for wizard use, aren't they? They love being bossed around and they love being told what to do and cooking and cleaning and all that, so I don't see why anyone would want to talk to them or be around them. They're like… like slaves, but they're fine with what they're doing, so why on earth would anyone just spend time around them for fun?" he said.

Quinn looked at him, now more angry than ever. She couldn't think of anything to say to go against him, because he had a rather good point. But she just kept walking. She was hungry, anyway.

Quinn started to think she was wrong about Draco, maybe was just a little brat, but something kept her thinking about him. Even though they had gotten in an argument after just a minute of walking, he was still following her. He was still going with her, though it seemed as though he no longer wanted to anymore. Quinn found that rather comforting.

The silence between them turned from frosty to comfortable in just a matter of minutes and Draco's hand brushed against Quinn's a number of different times. Every time he tried to hide the pink tinge that appeared on his cheeks and she brought her other hand up to her mouth to avoid giggling. It was the first time in a long time Quinn felt comfortable acting like a little love struck girl, and she was surprised it was with Draco Malfoy.

They reached the kitchens and Draco's walk became a little stiff. He really had no desire to walk into a room full of house elves, no matter how much food they gave him or how cosy it was. But how would he look if he turned away now? Like someone who would cop out of a deal at the last second, that's what. Somehow, he knew that was exactly what Quinn was fearing he would do right then. He just sighed quietly to himself as Quinn tickled the giant pear in a huge picture of assorted fruits and the kitchen revealed itself.

Then, something happened that made Draco's whole attitude towards his situation change. Quinn took his hand as she walked in. It looked as though the gesture meant nothing to her, but Draco's heart started to beat furiously. He actually smiled as he walked in with her.

"Hello!" Quinn called as they walked in. Draco looked around. There were house elves everywhere, all in rags, running around and preparing dinner. There were four tables identical to the house ones in the center of the kitchen and finished food was being laid out on them. Pots and pans were everywhere; little elves were scurrying around with their arms full with flour or sliced cucumbers or spaghetti sauce. Delicious smells were wafting from everywhere. Almost all the house elves turned their heads to see who had called out, and many of them smiled when they saw who it was.

"Hello Miss Fabray!" a few of them called out in their high, squeaky voices.

Draco hid a little shudder, and the only thing keeping him where he was, was Quinn's hand and the big, happy smile on her face. Four house elves ran to go put their food down and only a few seconds later chairs were being placed behind them. Quinn nodded to thank the elves and they all bowed so their bulbous nosed brushed the stone ground. Draco managed to give them a weak smile as they hurried off again.

Before Quinn could ask Draco how he liked it there, a little elf ran up to them and said "Is you hungry, sir and miss?"

Draco wanted to scoff. Creatures like this must be desperate for affection if they were willing to drop everything just to make whoever enters their kitchen a snack. He briefly considered asking for the most extravagant thing he could think of just to see their panic, but he thought of Quinn and pushed the thought out of his mind.

"No thank you," Draco said in a manner that suggested he thought anything they gave him would be unsatisfactory, even though he had been eating their food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for six whole years. He expected to see the elf's ears droop at least, but she didn't even bat an eyelash as she turned to Quinn.

"I'd like crepes, thank you," Quinn said, as kindly as if she was placing an order with a little child running a pretend restaurant.

Something was changed about Quinn, and Draco noticed. He thought he saw her in her element before, bullying first years and making snide side comments about teachers, but this was something entirely new. It looked to him as if she belonged there, and he couldn't quite place why. There was something almost motherly about the way she was acting, and she was amazing at it. She almost seemed to be glowing…

But just then, Quinn looked over at Draco and rather than both of them looking away embarrassed, their eyes met. Quinn had a small smile on her face, and that made a little grin creep up onto Draco's.

He hadn't felt so happy all year.


	7. Even Though Love Can Be Forced

"I can't believe we waited too late…" Rachel mumbled into her bowl of cereal.

Kurt rolled his eyes next to her. He didn't know why, but he was finding her to be an increasingly entertaining and decent friend. They were now always together at mealtimes and sat together during classes, and Kurt was almost sad that Christmas break was approaching. Having friends at Hogwarts was rather nice, even if that meant he had to hang out with Hermione Granger. She wasn't that bad; she just really liked rules and was such a Gryffindor.

"You know I still think stealing that damn love potion was a bad idea. I can't believe you're still going to do it after the holidays."

"I was waiting for the right time! So was Hermione, but you know I had to take charge of this plan. I was just waiting. I've had no chance at all to get around Finn now he's dating Quinn. Although, he does seem rather distant with her…" Rachel trailed off, looking mildly curious.

Kurt sighed. "Well, maybe you don't need the potion then."

"But I do! And if not for me, for Hermione. She deserves a chance with Ron, you know she does."

Kurt didn't say anything. He felt the Felix Felicis in his pocket, feeling like it weighed tons more than it really did. Kurt didn't know if he actually had the nerve to use it. If there was any time to take it, it would be at breakfast. The next day they would be boarding the train back to their homes for the Christmas holidays. However, he wasn't sure if today was right. He didn't want to do anything particularly amazing or worth remembering that day and then have the whole break for people to forget or for the feeling of the day to wear off. There was also the fact that he was just nervous to use it and feeling extremely guilty for stealing it. Sure, Kurt had nicked quills and sheets of parchment from his friends before, but he had never stolen from a teacher, much less a very valuable and risky potion.

"Hello, earth to Kurt Hummel! What are you thinking about?" Rachel asked. Kurt whipped his head around and looked at Rachel.

"Oh, nothing important," he said, dismissively waving his hand.

"Kurt, I just had a brilliant idea!" Rachel said, being rather loud. A few people at their table rolled their eyes. The Slytherin's were used to Rachel's theatrical shouts. Kurt just pursed his lips by means of asking her what her idea was.

"You could use some love potion too!" she hissed to him, her maniac smile back in place. Kurt scoffed.

"Rachel, you know I don't have _feelings _for anyone. I don't know anyone outside of Slytherin house, and between you and me, all the boys here are either idiots or snobs."

Rachel giggled at that, but she wouldn't be distracted.

"But you're lonely, Kurt! You hardly had any friends before I met you, and no boy your age should be forced into inexperience just because they don't know anyone that isn't worth their attention! Listen, I can introduce you to some Gryffindor's today. Maybe they can introduce you to some Ravenclaw's! I don't think you would get along particularly well with any Hufflepuff's though, so we'll avoid going there…" she ranted, and Kurt started to blush. It took a few seconds for him to regain his powers of speech.

"No, Rachel, no. I don't need to date anyone. Especially not a Gryffindor - no way. I don't need any… any _experience,_" he whispered the word as if it was dirty. "And I don't want any more friends than I already have. I have been trying so hard to avoid this subject with you. Kindly drop it."

Kurt was talking almost as fast as Rachel, desperate to get his point across. Rachel looked very disappointed that she wasn't allowed to play matchmaker anymore as people started to drift out of the Great Hall and wander towards their classes. The Slytherin's had Herbology with the Ravenclaw's first, then double Potions with the Gryffindor's, lunch, DADA with the Hufflepuff's, then Charms again with the Hufflepuff's. And even though he had made Rachel promise not to set him up romantically with anyone, she was clinging onto the thought of making him socialize.

The final bell rang and Rachel hopped out of her seat, eager to start the day. She took Kurt's hand and walked over to Hermione right away.

"Good morning, Hermione," she said, and Kurt just waved. Hermione looked up at them and smiled.

"Good morning, Rachel, Kurt," she said. They walked out of the Great Hall together.

"Is Ron still trying to ignore you?" Rachel asked bluntly. Hermione nodded.

"He's so stubborn, I'll tell you. But I can see him getting less interested in Lavender. I can't help but hope…" Hermione said, trailing off. She looked tired and weak for a second, before springing back into place. "I can't hope he fancies me, but as long as he's not with her I'll feel fine."

"I know. There's something about Lavender… she annoyed me before she started dating Weasley," Kurt said. He rarely got a chance to talk during these conversations, so he took any chance he could get. Hermione looked a bit pleased that she and Kurt shared the same views and a bit annoyed that Kurt would still only call Ron 'Weasley'.

"And have you noticed anything about Finn?" Rachel asked, cutting straight to the point. Hermione and Kurt rolled their eyes. Rachel had been using Hermione to monitor Finn and Quinn Fabray's relationship.

"He just hangs out with Harry, Ron, and Noah," Hermione said with a little shrug, adjusting her book bag's strap. "I haven't seen him with Quinn in over a week though. But don't take my word for it; I haven't been paying very close attention to him…"

Rachel looked even more energetic than usual at that. Kurt and Rachel said goodbye to Hermione as they went their separate ways for classes, promising to meet again during their morning and afternoon breaks.

"Ok, so in this class, we'll be sitting next to some Ravenclaw's," Rachel said firmly to Kurt as they walked towards the greenhouses. Kurt sighed.

"Rachel, I really don't want to do this. I don't need this. You just got some crazy idea in your head during breakfast… I mean, when have I ever actually given you evidence that I'm lonely?" he asked. Rachel looked at him impatiently as her cheeks grew red from the cold and their breath rose in icy puffs in front of them.

"You don't have to tell me, Kurt. I just know," she said wisely as they walked forward, feet crunching in the snow. Kurt just detached himself from the conversation and they walked the rest of the way in silence.

They reached their greenhouse and rushed inside, just in time for the class to start. Kurt was thankful that all the tables of four he saw were full, but Rachel spotted one where a Ravenclaw boy and girl were sitting. She dragged him towards it and sat him down before sitting down next to him. The entire class was watching them, as Professor Sprout was about to start talking when they burst into the classroom. She looked mildly annoyed, but began the class anyway.

"Alright, since this is your last class before Christmas holidays, we'll be doing something short and easy, no big projects until we get back. Today you'll be repotting Screechsnap like you did last year, so come up and grab some pots and manure and get started. If anyone needs a reminder of what to do, come up and ask me. Begin."

Rachel jumped out of her seat to grab the supplies, leaving Kurt stranded with the Ravenclaw's. The girl was blonde and slightly mad looking; her eyes big and protuberant. Kurt really had no desire to talk to her, but the boy was different. He was big and rather beefy and no one would look up at or notice him just walking through the corridors. He looked like he had no desire to talk to Kurt, which was annoying and appealing at once. He was looking at Kurt pull on his expensive gloves with a mild expression as Kurt raised an eyebrow, an almost smile on his face. There was a silent battle going on of who would give up and talk first because while Kurt and the boy didn't want to talk, they both found the other rather appealing in one way or the next. However, Rachel came back, her arms loaded with supplies and settled the problem for them.

"Hello! I'm Rachel Berry," she said loudly and obnoxiously, as if she was speaking to small children. Kurt and the other boy's attention snapped to her and Kurt was overwhelmed by embarrassment, but the girl didn't seem to mind. In fact, she snapped out of her trance and looked at Rachel.

"Hello Rachel. I'm Luna, Luna Lovegood," she said in a misty, dreamy voice. Both of the girls held out their hands and shook. Rachel's strong, firm handshake made up for Luna's flimsy one.

"I've heard of you. There are some rather mean rumours about you spreading around Hogwarts. People say you're rather bossy," Luna said in a way that said she couldn't care less about the level of Rachel's bossiness. However, Rachel ignored her and turned to the boy.

"And you are?" she asked a bit too happily, Kurt and the boy both scowled a bit.

"Dave Karofsky," he said in a gruff voice, and his name sounded like it didn't wish to be said aloud at all. Rachel reached out and grasped his big hand in her tiny one and shook it vigorously. He started to look more and more frustrated, and Kurt almost laughed. However, his amusement ceased right away when Rachel introduced him.

"And this is my friend Kurt Hummel!" she said, putting one hand on his back and using the other to gesture out to them.

Kurt put on a very sarcastic smile and said "Pleasure." in a way that implied he wasn't pleased at all. Luna smiled softly at him but Dave looked almost hypnotized and reached out to shake Kurt's hand. Kurt could feel the warmth of Dave's hand through his glove and the straightforwardness of the gesture got him blushing. Rachel looked beyond triumphant and Luna looked a bit too happy for her own good. Dave cleared his throat and yanked his hand away from Kurt's, who then leaned over the table as if Dave was telling a very interesting story. The whole table was silent for thirty seconds before Dave said "Shouldn't we be working?"

"Yes! Yes, of course!" Rachel said shrilly, passing out pots to everyone as they all grabbed some Screechsnap from the center of the table.

"I rather like Herbology. It's very relaxing," Luna said as she scooped up some dragon manure and put it into her pot. Rachel nodded.

"Yes, but there's _contrast. _One day we can be doing something as calm and serene as this, and the next day we're wresting with bobotubers and the like. That's what does it for me," Rachel said, and Luna nodded. Kurt doubted she heard anything Rachel had said.

"I'm not a big fan of Herbology. It's what you do with the plant that counts. Potions is so much more exciting," Kurt said, shifting his leg under the table. His knee hit Dave's. They both blushed as if they had a secret.

"Did you like potions even when Snape was the teacher?" Dave asked a little smile on his face. It looked as if he was pleased. He thought he had backed Kurt into a corner, somewhere where he had to admit he was wrong. Kurt grinned back, knowing he was in no such position.

"I liked it better when Snape was teaching. He was a much better teacher, and I was one of the few students he chose to respect," Kurt said it as if it was a high honour to be respected by Snape. Dave raised an eyebrow.

"Snape can't stand me. I bet it's because you're a Slytherin. Snape's totally prejudiced," Dave said.

Kurt scoffed. "Only the people he hates think that."

"Well, that's kinda just what I said, wasn't it?" Dave said, challenging Kurt.

They both realized this was a mistake and backed out of the conversation, looking to Rachel and Luna. But the two girls were absorbed in a debate on the probability of Wrackspurts really existing and it was clear it was a conversation only for two. Dave cleared his throat awkwardly again and they both reached out for new Screechsnap plants. Their hands collided, and they both looked away, pretending not to have noticed.

000

"_That _was successful, wasn't it?" Rachel said as they left the greenhouses side by side, gently elbowing Kurt in the ribs. Kurt gently shoved her away and shook his head.

"No, Rachel. I don't _like _Dave. He was nice and yes, I would really love to play on his arms like monkey bars, but I do not like him. He would argue with me and he's too aggressive. Really, I don't understand why he's not in Slytherin. He seems the type," Kurt said.

Rachel deflated like a balloon and Kurt swelled with triumph. Kurt wouldn't admit it, but he thought Dave was very attractive and liked the way his hand felt. But he was going to be logical about this. He had only spent one class time with the boy and had no idea what he was like, really. And while it was just playful, he really didn't like the way Dave ended the first bit of their conversation. It was a bit too forward, just a bit too 'in his face'.

I'll never find that appealing, Kurt thought. They jogged up to the Castle to get warm and met Hermione indoors. Hermione looked a bit upset.

"What's wrong?" Rachel said right away. Hermione sighed and crossed her arms.

"It's Ronald again. He was just making fun of me in class and Puckerman laughed."

No matter how casual she sounded, Kurt and Rachel could tell she was really very insulted by this.

"What did they do?" Rachel asked soothingly, putting a hand on Hermione's shoulder and looking at her with big, concerned eyes. Hermione opened up to her right away.

"They just made fun of the way I raise my hand. I mean, Ron's done it before and I've gotten over it. But this time, with Puckerman involved and all, it was really rather hurtful," Hermione said. Rachel rubbed her arm softly and thought about what she would say for a moment.

"He's only doing those things because he likes you. Boys are so strange, they'll try to make you think they're superior by being mean, but they just don't understand. After the love potion, he'll really understand how he feels. And you're only this offended because you really love him too, Hermione. You two were meant to be together," Rachel said, nodding a bit.

Hermione nodded as well, giving an almighty sniff. Just at that moment, Ron, Finn, and Puck walked by then, as Harry was off packing up his things, a task he had neglected to do.

"Hey, Hermione, why are you hanging out with those Slytherin's? All a bunch of Death Eaters, aren't they?" Puck said. Finn chuckled and Ron laughed, although he looked very uncomfortable doing so.

"Watch your mouth, Puckerman! You should know both my mom and dad were Gryffindor's and if you insult my house again I won't be afraid to kick your ass! I don't even think you know how to disarm someone!" Kurt called after their retreating backs, and instinctively pulled the quietly sniffling Hermione into his arms, something he had never done before.

After their break, Rachel, Kurt, and a much cheerier Hermione headed down to the dungeons for Potions. Kurt hadn't lied to Dave; he actually did like Potions better when Snape taught it. He felt he and Snape had shared a special, however weak, teacher-to-student bond that he didn't have with any of his other students, maybe aside from Draco Malfoy. Now that Slughorn was teaching Potions, Kurt didn't find it half as enjoyable.

They entered Slughorn's chilly Potions room and it took Rachel only a few seconds to drag Kurt off to a table where a Gryffindor boy was sitting alone. Hermione waved to him and followed them over. The boy looked happy to see a somewhat familiar face and waved back to Hermione. After they sat down and before Rachel had time to start introducing them all, Harry walked into the room. He walked over to the tables and paused, looking at the table where Hermione was sitting, then to where Ron and Finn were. As reluctant as she was to do so, Hermione gestured that he could go sit with Ron. As a friend, she didn't want to make Harry sit with unfamiliar Slytherin's and a boy who obviously fancied him. Harry smiled gratefully at her and went to sit with the other Gryffindor boys. Slughorn wasn't in the room yet, so Rachel started to talk.

"Hello!" she said to the Gryffindor boy, who raised his eyebrows in response to her over-enthusiasm. "I'm Rachel Berry. I take it you know Hermione Granger, since she's in your house, and this is my friend Kurt Hummel. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

The boy smiled and it reached up to his big, hazel eyes and scrunched them up in an appealing way. They shook hands, and he introduced himself.

"I'm Blaine Anderson." he said, and the conversation between them was already smooth and easy. Kurt could tell Blaine was someone who had no problems speaking to new people, a far stretch from Dave, who Kurt was still thinking about. But now he was starting to question Rachel's plan. Was she making attractive boys appear all over the place? Did she slip him some love potion or his own Felix Felicis at breakfast? It was uncanny, he thought.

But there was really no denying that Blaine was attractive. Short, yes, and a little bit too professional with his regular conversation, but very, _very_ attractive. He, Rachel and Hermione were in a conversation about something that sounded intelligent as Kurt rested his head in one of his hands and looked at Blaine, who was interesting to watch even if he was just talking. There was a second, it seemed, in slow motion where Blaine turned his head to look at Kurt after something Rachel said and the full force of Blaine's eyes hit Kurt and it felt like his breath was knocked out of his chest. Blaine raised his eyebrows just slightly as if asking Kurt a question.

"Kurt!" Rachel said, and suddenly the sound was a lot clearer.

"Hmm?" he said inquiringly, raising his head off of his hand and looking rather curious as to what was going on.

"I just asked you what you thought," Rachel said, leaning in to him as if getting closer to Kurt would help her realize what was going on in Kurt's head.

Once Blaine realized that Kurt had no idea what they were talking about, he said "We were just talking about classes in other schools testing their potions on animals."

Blaine looked quite amused that Kurt was lost, and knew somewhere in his mind that it was totally his fault, although that hadn't quite occurred to him yet.

"Well, I think it's awful, of course. Maybe it would be okay to use them with the older, more experienced students, but using them with kids who hardly know what they're doing with potion making could be considered animal cruelty, couldn't it?" he said. Then he noticed two things at once: Slughorn walking into the room and Hermione looking from Kurt, to Blaine, and then for some reason, Harry.

"Alright, class! Today we'll be making a Beautifying Potion, it'll be a bit tricky but I'm sure you'll make do… well, actually, why don't you pair up? Whoever has the best potion will win this!" he said, holding up a little vial of Felix Felicis identical to Kurt's. Kurt blushed and looked down. Somehow, he felt that Slughorn knew he stole some. He sighed and straightened up to ask Rachel to be his partner, but her arm was linked through Hermione's and she gave him a mischievous little wink. Kurt's heart stopped for two seconds before he turned back to Blaine, who looked from Hermione at the same time and locked eyes with Kurt.

"Be my partner?" he asked, and with one last dirty look at Rachel, Kurt sighed and said "It looks like I have to be." in a downhearted way. Blaine looked at him skeptically as he pulled out his potions book and supplies. Kurt leaned down at to the same.

"So what, you don't want to be my partner?" Blaine asked, almost sarcastically, as if he knew what the answer would be. Kurt locked eyes with him briefly as he set up his cauldron between them.

"Of course I do. I'm just… not… never mind," he said, grabbing his book from under the table. When he came back up, Blaine was leaning a bit forward over the table and Kurt thought he smelled peppermint gum and grass. He tried not to act like he was entranced.

"What does never mind mean?" Blaine asked. Kurt opened his book and started pulling out ingredients and only gave Blaine a side glance.

"Well, technically, it means that you shouldn't mind what I just said, you know, as in mind-your-own-business," Kurt said in a very stiff tone of voice.

Blaine almost chuckled. "I meant, what did it mean in the current situation," he started to mock Kurt. "You know, as in 'What is my Potions partner trying to hide from me?'"

Kurt scoffed as he started dropping ingredients in the cauldron. "Be quiet and help me with our potion," he snapped.

Blaine actually did chuckle that time. "So the Slytherin is a bit grumpy today, is he?" he said, looking in the cauldron to try and catch up to where Kurt was. Blaine hated being left behind in group projects.

Kurt didn't answer. Blaine thought maybe Kurt was just thinking of something to say, but after a while of just not responding Blaine sighed and turned around to look at Harry. Luckily, none of the other Gryffindor boys caught him staring, but Harry looked up at him. A little half-grin appeared on Harry's face and Blaine's stomach seemed to have made a swooping motion inside him, and his heart thudded. When he turned back to Kurt however, he was staring at Blaine with his mouth slightly open, and it was apparent he knew exactly what was going on. They looked at each other, completely surprised and taken aback. But suddenly, something clicked inside Kurt and he reached over and flipped Blaine's book to the correct page and said, "I'm on step number four, and I could use some unicorn tail hair. Do you have any?"

His voice sounded much mistier and far off to Blaine, in a way that almost sounded hopeless, but he passed over the unicorn hair and the rest of the class was spent with little talking between the two boys.

Between Kurt and Blaine's exceptional potion making skills they were sure they had the Felix Felicis in the bag. The quiet that was awkward and frosty turned to one filled with grins and side glances. Rachel turned her head several times to see how they were doing and was very pleased with the progression of Kurt and Blaine's silence, and Kurt caught her eyes a couple of times. He was dreading the thorough teasing and questioning he would receive when the class time was over. He felt that he shouldn't tell Rachel that Blaine had a crush on the famous Harry Potter; he knew how rumours spread like wildfires around Hogwarts.

"Okay class, time's up!" Slughorn called as he walked over to Harry and Ron's table on the opposite side of the room to check their potions, and everyone put down their ingredients. Kurt and Blaine's potion was slightly steaming and a swirled mix of silver and a pearly pink.

"This is awesome." Blaine said, staring down into the potion. "I totally wouldn't mind nicking some of this…"

Kurt pursed his lips, biting back a million things he had to say about how attractive Blaine was anyway. However, Rachel said it for him.

"Actually, I feel as though Kurt doesn't think you need any at all," she said, leaning over and patting Kurt's shoulder before leaning back over to Hermione.

Kurt could have done anything to make it seem like a lie. He could have gently hit Rachel and scoffed; he could have done absolutely anything. But instead he sat up straight in his seat, stiff backed, with a flushed face and wide eyes. Seeing Kurt's reaction to the statement, Blaine's face flooded with colour and he looked down, his eyes almost as wide as Kurt's. Their embarrassment was interrupted by Slughorn, who approached their table and looked down into Rachel and Hermione's cauldron. He looked pleased until their potion belched out a great load of white smoke into his face. He clenched his eyes shut and pulled his head away from the potion.

"Good, but… not quite what the book says, Miss Granger, Miss Berry," he said in an apologetic way. Rachel and Hermione both looked disgruntled. Slughorn walked over to the other end of the table to peer into Kurt and Blaine's cauldron. He instantly looked impressed.

"Well done Misters Anderson and Hummel! This is exactly how the book described it," Slughorn said jovially. Hermione was glaring daggers at Kurt, who gave her a little smirk back. Slughorn looked over at Harry across the room. "Mr. Potter, I feel that I've found some potion makers with skill equal to your own!"

Harry turned to see Blaine, a sight he was used to by then, and a Slytherin boy sitting in a way that was unexplainably female and smirking at him, cocking an eyebrow. Harry was suddenly filled with a burning curiosity to find out who the boy was. If he was as good as the Prince, he must have some sort of secret. He looked over at Ron and saw that he was thinking the same thing.

Harry then looked over at Draco, who was sitting at a cauldron with an equally frustrated looking pretty blonde girl. They were both glaring at the table occupied by Blaine, Hermione, and the two Slytherin's.

"It seems as though we have a tie!" Slughorn said, looking at Kurt and Blaine, then Harry and Ron. "Mr. Potter, since you've exceeded in my class several times before, you wouldn't mind if I…" the Professor trailed off, pulling the Felix Felicis out of his coat and tilting his head ad hand towards Kurt and Blaine, silently asking if it was fine to reward them.

Harry shrugged. "Sure, Professor," he said.

Slughorn smiled and handed the Felix Felicis to Blaine. "Congratulations!" he said before walking away, and everyone started to pack up. Before Blaine could touch the cauldron however, Kurt pulled out a little flask and filled it up with the Beautifying Potion. Blaine looked at Kurt in surprise.

"Isn't that against the rules? Listen, I wasn't serious when I was talking about nicking some, I-"

"Blaine, this has nothing to do with what you said. I just want some. And I made it, so it's not stealing, is it?" Kurt said, and Blaine opened his mouth as if he had something to say but then shut it again. Kurt vanished the potion from the cauldron and started to pack up his things.

"Oh, Blaine, you can keep the Felix Felicis. I don't need it."

_"Well?" _Rachel asked as they left together. Kurt shot her a warning look.

"No. I spent more time staring at Blaine than looking at him. He's gorgeous, but I would rather talk to Dave again. At least we had a decent conversation," Kurt said. Rachel opened her mouth to speak, but Kurt cut across her. "And embarrassing me was so unnecessary!" he said indignantly.

"I don't know what you mean." Rachel said, tossing her long brown hair.

Kurt sighed. "Telling Blaine I thought he was handsome! That was really unacceptable." Kurt said, his face flooding with colour again.

"It was_ obvious, _Kurt. I wasn't saying anything anyone didn't know," she said, pursing her lips and looking up at him as they walked up the stairs to lunch.

Kurt sighed. "At least you're not making me talk to any Hufflepuff's."

"Actually Kurt, I was thinking-"

"Hell no, Rachel."


	8. Even Though Love Can Mean New Alliances

Christmas break had come and gone. Their first day back had been nice and everyone was making their way back to their common rooms, but not Artie Abrams. He was wheeling nonchalantly to the hospital wing. He had, of course, stopped to give Ginny a kiss and a hello when he had run into her in the hallways, waving at her brothers and Harry Potter as he went, excusing himself.

As the thoughts of Luna left his mind over the break, the thought of fixing his legs consumed him. He was very surprised he hadn't thought about it before Ginny mentioned it. He was the only person in a wheelchair at Hogwarts, how could that not have bothered him before? He had consulted his parents over Christmas and asked them if they would mind him fixing his legs with magic, as they were both muggles. Of course, they said, they wouldn't mind at all. However, his parents also said it was his choice. If he liked his wheelchair, he could keep himself in it. But he saw them exchange a glance that plainly said neither of them knew why he would want to stay in it at all. Artie decided then that once he got back to Hogwarts, he would fix his legs with magic. He didn't know where he would go from there. Would he have to learn to walk again, or would he just remember? If he did have to re-learn walking how long would it take?

Artie just thought anything would be better than staying in his chair, an object he suddenly resented.

He passed a few more students as he rolled on, but he heard a voice saying his name. He turned around and saw Luna Lovegood walking up to him and he stopped in his tracks.

"Hello Artie," she said serenely. He waved to her.

"Hey, Luna," he said.

He tried to just forget the greeting and roll away, but she turned and started to walk with him. Half of him wanted to entertain her company, but the other half wished she would just leave him alone. He had things to do and even if he did want to explain his situation he wasn't sure if she would understand how he was feeling.

"How were your holidays?" she asked him, looking at the high-ceilinged corridor rather than at him. He shrugged and then realized she wasn't looking.

"It was nice. Pretty chill. Nothing much happened." Artie said, nodding a bit.

Luna nodded as well. "So was mine. Daddy and I went out and we found the horn of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. He was very pleased and he hung it up on the wall."

She finally looked down at him and smiled, and Artie smiled back though his mind was confused. He was starting to remember why he liked her so much.

"But I was meaning to ask you, have you forgotten our common room is that way?" she asked kindly, pointing over her shoulder. Artie almost laughed, he could hardly believe she could be serious about such things.

"No, I was just heading somewhere else," Artie said. Luna nodded a bit, and Artie thought she might be imitating him and the way he nodded his head to say he was okay with things or thought they were cool. He didn't know whether to be amused or offended. After a small silence Luna finally spoke again.

"Where are you going?" she asked, creating a hole in the conversation. Artie didn't mind, however.

"I was just going to the hospital wing," he said calmly, although he was suddenly anxious. He knew she was going to ask why, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to answer or not. However, Luna just looked from his feet to his face, then back down again.

"You look healthy to me," she said, and Artie's mouth opened as if he was about to say something. He closed it and then opened it again. She said it in a way most other people telling him he was healthy or that he looked good didn't. She didn't say it in a halting way, she didn't avert her eyes or cough, or smile awkwardly. In short, she said it as if his wheelchair didn't exist. That made Artie feel good, although he didn't know why. He had gotten used to his chair being his prominent feature. He spoke again to try and keep the conversation flowing.

"You really think that?" he asked curiously. Luna nodded.

"You don't look sick and you seem to be moving the way you normally do," she said with a little shrug. Artie smiled to himself. The smile vanished, however, and was replaced with a serious expression.

"Luna?" he asked tentatively. "What would you say if I told you I was fixing my legs?"

She stopped walking to consider for a moment and he stopped with her. The hospital wing was just ahead of them, Artie could see the door, but suddenly it seemed crucial that he had her opinion on his decision. She finally looked down at him with a kind smile.

"I would say it's a rather good decision. But I would also say it's bad. I would miss walking if I was you, of course, but I also like your wheelchair. It makes you special."

"Define special," Artie said, tilting his head a bit as if trying to see her clearly.

"Well, I can see you in a crowd. But that's nice. You don't quite look like everyone else. I think that's a good thing," she said in a way that radiated a strange sort of confidence as well as her usual madness. It was because of that that Artie took her word as the whole truth, for that moment at least.

"I suppose you might want another opinion on this?" she asked, and Artie shrugged.

"I don't know, I mean, it's not too big of a deal."

"It's a very big deal if you would be able to walk again," she said seriously, and without another word she started pushing his wheelchair in the opposite direction. He looked back at the hospital wing a bit regretfully, but he could still get it done tonight. However, Luna had planted a small seed of doubt in his mind. He wanted to walk more than anything, but maybe keeping his wheelchair just a little longer wouldn't be bad. Maybe he should wait till the end of the year…

"Where are we going?" Artie asked a few minutes later, breaking the surprisingly comfortable silence.

Luna hesitated before saying, "I feel like if I tell you, you'll try and convince me not to take you."

That only sparked his curiosity further.

"Come on, tell me!" he said, turning and making a pouty face at her. She grinned at him and he grinned back.

"Be patient," she said. He faced forward and acted patient.

They arrived before a gargoyle statue just a minute later and Luna stopped. Artie had no idea where he was going. Luna turned to the statue and said "Acid pops." The gargoyle let aside and the wall behind it split apart, revealing a moving spiral staircase. Artie's eyes widened in appreciation of the clever magic as Luna pushed him in and held his chair up on the stairs. As they reached the end of the staircase, a door appeared and Artie heard voices behind it. Luna knocked and the voices stopped, and Artie heard someone, a man, say "Come in!"

Luna opened the door and Artie realized where he was right away. He was in the headmasters' office and he felt embarrassed right away. Luna was right, if she had told him he was going to Dumbledore for help with something silly and personal, he would have refused right away. To add to his embarrassment, Harry was in the room, looking very surprised to see them there. Dumbledore look very serious as they walked in, but smiled at them right away.

"Hello headmaster," Luna said, and gave a small wave to Harry.

"Hello, Miss Lovegood," Dumbledore said, and continued to speak. "I'm sorry to say that this is a very inopportune time for you to be here. Is this something I can help you with some other time, or will this be a particularly short meeting?" he asked no threat in his voice.

"Short, I think," Luna said. "My friend Artie is in a wheelchair and he thinks he wants to fix his legs. He asked for my opinion, but I don't think he's sure of what he wants to do yet. I was wondering if you had any thoughts about that. And I'm sorry if I interrupted something particularly important. If that's the case, we can just leave."

Dumbledore was silent for a bit. He intertwined his fingers and looked curiously at the blushing Artie. Harry was staring at Artie too, but he looked less thoughtful and more judgmental. He only knew Artie as Ginny's boyfriend and didn't know quite how to aim any other emotion then jealousy at him.

"I think that Mr. Abrams should do whatever he thinks is best. It really depends on what he sees his future as. If, say, he wanted to become an Auror or a Quidditch player he should consider fixing his legs now and getting fully re-accustomed to them as soon as possible, but that's not to say he can't fix them later. Whatever he thinks is best is best for him," Dumbledore said the last part while looking at Artie and there was a pleasant twinkle in his eye that relaxed Artie a bit, at least enough to smile back at Dumbledore.

The headmaster suddenly turned to Harry and said, "What do you think?"

Harry looked as taken aback as Artie felt as he entered the room and he just shrugged at first. "I don't know. I mean, I'd like to walk if I were him, just… yeah. That's a personal decision. Like you said."

Dumbledore nodded in a conclusive way and said, "Yes, yes. Now, I'm sorry Miss Lovegood and Mr. Abrams, but I must insist that you go. Maybe we can catch up with less serious matters another time."

He waved goodbye, and Artie knew he was being dismissed. Luna took the handles of his wheelchair and aimed him towards the door.

"Thank you!" Artie said as they left and Harry turned back to Dumbledore. Once they were on the staircase, Artie heaved a sigh and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He turned to look at Luna, who was completely at ease.

"What was that for?" he asked Luna as they walked out of the stairway and back into the corridor.

"To help you figure things out. I felt like you would just keep second guessing yourself if we didn't get an opinion that you thought wasn't formal," she said calmly.

Artie opened his mouth and tried to retort and justify the discomfort he felt, but what she said was so completely true he didn't have anything to say but a mumbled, "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Are you going to keep your chair?"

"For a little while, I guess. Maybe just till the end of the year."

"I think that's a very good idea," Luna said, and stopped pushing his chair. Moonlight was streaming through the windows and hit Luna in a way that made all Artie's small judgements against her vanish. He thought she looked gorgeous. She suddenly stopped pushing him and walked around to the front of his wheelchair and just stood there.

"I've got to go, I promised I would meet Dave, Santana and Brittany for a game of exploding snap," she said.

Artie found his voice just in time to say, "Okay. Okay, I'll just go back to our common room. See you."

Luna waved pleasantly and walked away, and Artie stared after her in wonder.

000

A week later, the word of Artie's small wheelchair drama had drifted around the Ravenclaw common room and everyone was excited for the upcoming apparation lessons. As Dave and Luna walked around the common room, they constantly encountered people with their noses buried in books with titles like _The Art of Apparation _and _Destination, Determination and Deliberation: Apparation for Beginners. _

Dave didn't think very much of apparation. He had done side-along apparating with his father for a while and he thought it was uncomfortable. He supposed it would be easier once he was doing it himself and got used to it. Dave told all this to Luna, who had her nose buried in her father's magazine one night in the common room. She looked up at him with her big eyes before answering.

"I've never apparated. Daddy and I have always found our way around other ways. But I suppose it's interesting. What's it like?" she asked curiously.

"Well, uh… it's kinda hard to explain… it feels a little like things are pressing in on you everywhere. Walls, I mean. Like you're being squeezed. It's weird," Dave said. He looked down and checked his watch.

"Santana and Brittany said to be there in like, ten minutes" he said, referring to their frequent meeting place, the Room of Requirement. For them, it always turned into a cosy little room with three big armchairs and a beanbag for Brittany, who preferred that over any type of chair.

"We should go then," Luna said, and they left. Dave turned to look around the common room before they left and noticed Artie Abrams was staring avidly at Luna. He blushed and looked down when he saw Dave was looking at him. Dave just turned and walked after Luna.

Dave and Luna didn't talk much. They had conversations, of course, but most of the time they just were quiet. It wasn't as if they had nothing to talk about, Hogwarts was a place that basically went out of its way to remain interesting and always had something going on worth talking about. However, Luna seemed to spend a lot of time just having conversations within her own mind and Dave liked thinking. He liked to sit and work something out; he liked the satisfaction he got afterwards. He liked knowing he knew things. So when he and Luna settled down during classes and in the common room, many hours could pass in silence. Both of them thought it was nice.

They reached the blank stretch of wall that was the Room of Requirement, but just then another little group of people ran up. Luna looked at them in mild surprise, but Dave recognized the boy. He was a Slytherin and Dave had seen him around when Slytherin's were his only friends. He always looked proud and haughty, but now he looked out of breath and rather desperate. There were two first year Slytherin girls on either side of him looking rather disgruntled. It only took one look to tell everyone there that they were there for the same reason.

"I need to get in there," Draco Malfoy said, his eyes flicking to the wall. Luna took a step back. She would be involved in no arguments. Dave took a step forward, looking big and threatening. Draco's stunned breathlessness turned to annoyance and superiority almost right away.

"We actually had plans here," Dave said, looking down at Draco. Draco scoffed.

"My plans here are ten times more important than yours," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"For all I know your plans could just be sitting around, picking at your own earwax. We were here first anyway," Dave said, and Draco looked near furious again.

More footsteps started to echo in the corridor and Santana and Brittany walked up. Brittany moved away from Santana to talk to Luna, she knew Dave and Draco were starting to argue and she didn't want to be involved either. However, Santana walked over to stand by Dave and pulled out her most menacing grin for Draco, who suddenly looked a bit threatened.

"This guy bothering you, Dave?" Santana asked in a way that implied that she could put a stop to it. Draco looked from Santana to Dave, looking extremely annoyed. Dave grinned at Santana.

"He's not doing much," he said. Having her next to him made him feel twice as confident. He and Luna were good friends when it came to understanding and knowing, but he and Santana were two halves of an ass-kicking whole. With Santana, he could take on anything or anyone and knock them down so far, so fast that they wouldn't know what hit them. However, he could tell Santana was a bit down tonight. They just bantered about Draco in front of him. Once they started making fun of his hair he just made a frustrated noise and turned to walk away. The two little girls gave them dirty looks before scampering after Draco. Santana and Dave looked at each other and grinned.

"He was just trying to get into the room. He said he had a bunch of stuff to do in there or something," Dave said with a shrug.

"Well he's a jerk. Thanks for keeping him out," Santana said, patting Dave's shoulder before turning to pace back and forth in front of the wall three times. A door appeared and the four friends walked in and collapsed into their chairs. Santana pulled out her wizards' chess board and set herself up with the white pieces. She looked expectantly up at Dave, who sat down opposite her and made the first move. Brittany insisted that Luna sit on her lap and was reading the Quibbler over her shoulder.

"Hey Britt, sing something for us," Santana said. Luna looked over her shoulder and nodded eagerly. Dave just looked a little confused.

"You sing, Brittany?" he asked. Brittany nodded.

"Yeah. Santana taught me when we were little," she said. Dave's head whipped back to Santana.

"You sing too? Why haven't I heard you?" he said. Then he turned back to Luna. "Why haven't you told me?"

Luna looked unfazed by his accusatory tone and just said, "It never came up… you two should sing together now."

Santana shook her head. "Nuh uh. I ain't playing chess and singing at once."

Everyone in the room knew going against Santana once it was a bit later in the evening when she was tired and seemingly worn out was a bad idea, so Dave and Santana continued with their chess game as Brittany started singing softly in French. Dave was further stunned. He didn't know Brittany spoke French. He suddenly started to think he didn't know a lot about these girls at all. They all were quiet as Brittany sang. She was very good, and her voice was full and sensual, as opposed to her quiet, misty voice. Once the song was over, Santana and Luna clapped enthusiastically.

"You speak French?" Dave said in utter surprise.

Brittany shook her head. "I just learned that song puh… puh…"

"Phonetically, Britt. Just because a word starts with P doesn't mean it makes a 'puh' sound," Santana said, not taking her eyes off the chessboard.

Brittany rolled her eyes. "English is so weird… but I don't know what I'm saying in that song. I just had a boy Santana found who speaks French teach it to me. It's pretty," she said, and Luna nodded.

"Very pretty," she said. Santana nodded.

"Yeah. Britt wanted to sing it so badly and I didn't know what it was saying so I had to track down this kid I heard speaking French a while before that. That sucked. Then he was kinda a bitch. He was cool, but he was kinda a girl about everything. He was a Slytherin; his name was Kurt or something."

Dave's head flew up so he could look Santana in the eyes and everyone noticed how much attention he was paying then.

"Brown hair, high voice?" Dave asked. Santana nodded, looking a bit suspicious of Dave.

"Yeah. That boy can _sing_,_" _she said.

"He sings…" Dave mumbled.

"What?" Brittany asked. Dave quickly shook his head.

"No. Uh, nothing," he said.

The rest of the night passed with conversation of apparation, Hogsmeade and the dating at Hogwarts. They had just started to explain iPods and Facebook to Santana and Luna when Dave checked his watch and saw that it was long past curfew.

"Guys, guys, we gotta go. We're gonna get in trouble," Dave said, standing up and tapping his watch. Luna got off Brittany's lap and gathered up her Quibbler. It took the other girls a bit to get up, but Brittany stood up, squinting and stretching and looking rather catlike. Santana packed up her chess set and stood as well.

"Guys, I wanna talk to Dave for a bit. Is that cool? We'll catch up in just a sec," Santana said.

Luna nodded and Brittany said "Don't get caught!" as she slipped out the door. Santana stared after her and Dave cleared his throat, annoyed.

"What is it? I don't want to get in trouble. We're super late already," he said, looking down at her a bit angrily. Santana raised an eyebrow at him.

"Davey, Imma tell you something you might not be ready to know," she said in an annoyingly and falsely caring voice. Dave scowled at her. He couldn't think of anything she could possibly say he wasn't ready for. But he was totally unprepared for what she said next.

"You're gay," she said.

Dave's heart dropped into his stomach and everything shut down in his mind. His mouth fell open and the sudden blank nothingness that consumed him was filled with shock and embarrassment.

"I'm not. I'm not gay. What the fuck made you think that?" Dave said, but Santana knew he only cussed when he got nervous.

"Please. You don't even _look _at girls. And I swear you freaked out when I said 'Kurt'. Do you have a crush on him or something?" Santana asked. Dave shook his head.

"No way. I've talked to him like, once."

"So you admit you're gay?"

"What?"

"You're gay, Dave. You're so gay, stop denying it."

There was a very tense silence where they just stared each other down, both looking angry and feeling stubborn. Then, Santana looked down and shifted a bit before mumbling something that Dave couldn't hear.

"What?" Dave asked.

"I'm… kinda… gay too," Santana mumbled, crossing her arms. Dave's eyes widened.

"You sleep with guys like, all the time!" Dave said, and Santana snapped out of her vulnerable state to glare at him.

"I'm a lesbian; don't make me say it again." Santana said. They stood and stared at each other again, but now there was an element of understanding in their mildly angry glares.

"Do you like the Kurt kid?" Santana asked. Dave nodded.

"How often do you think about him?" Santana asked.

"What kind of question is that?" asked Dave, but she gave him a very persistent look and he mumbled "I guess like once every few days or so… but I only talked to him once! Just one Herbology class, I'm not supposed to think about him more, am I?"

Santana shook her head. "So you wanna impress him?"

Dave nodded. Santana nodded in understanding and said, "I have someone I want to impress too. It's, uh… it's Britt."

Dave's eyes widened a bit.

"I'll help you if you help me."


	9. Even Though Love Can Be Hard To Find

_**AN:**__ This chapter has dialogue taken directly from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I don't own any of those pieces of dialogue._

Another week later, and it was apparent that February was approaching fast. The weather outside was still chilly but the snow was freezing and becoming ice rather than melting. Everything seemed to be soggy and damp and the castle corridors were finally warming up. People were finally starting to shed their gloves and scarves in the corridors. Blaine Anderson, however, was in a frosty mood.

He had finally gone past thinking Harry might have a chance to like him back, much less love him. After months and months of drooling over Harry, it came as a big blow. Every time he saw Harry, he felt a bit resentful and then hated himself for feeling that way because Harry had done nothing to him. When he told himself he didn't even talk to Harry to try and comfort himself, it came as another blow when he realized he had a huge crush on a boy who he didn't even talk to, even though they had been sleeping in the same room for six years. It seemed that everything he tried to say or do to comfort himself turned around and made him even sourer.

Another day had passed of him moping through classes. Seamus and Dean were out on the grounds flying, which Blaine was awful at and he didn't feel like going to find anyone else to hang out with. Sam had a new girlfriend and had been ignoring his other friends in favour of her. He couldn't think of anyone else to go to cheer himself up.

After dinner he went back up to Gryffindor tower. The common room was full of people finishing homework and Harry was sitting over by the fire looking very angry at one of his papers. Blaine hurried past them and up to his four poster bed. He pulled off his backpack and pulled out a DADA essay from Snape and his wand. He sighed and started to write, determined to finish the paper in one sitting. He hated having to go back and return to work.

Just then, he heard a bang from the other side of the room and a cry that nearly made him jump out of his skin. He thought he was alone in the room, but as soon as his heart was back to beating normally, he knew it must have been Neville. He got up to go help him. He hadn't talked to Neville much since he found out Blaine had a crush on Harry.

Once he reached Neville's bed, he found Neville with no eyebrows and turquoise hair. He sighed and pulled out his wand, fixing Neville's mistakes.

"Thanks," Neville said as he felt his eyebrows.

"What were you trying to do?" Blaine asked, sitting down next to Neville. Neville shrugged and said, "Homework."

Blaine nodded and patted Neville on the shoulder and got up to go back to his bed.

"Is something wrong?" Neville asked, looking at Blaine in a rather confused way. Blaine turned around and looked at him curiously.

"Why would you ask that?"

Neville shrugged again and said, "Well, I don't know. You haven't been very talkative lately. And you haven't been laughing at Ron's jokes."

Blaine stared at him in astonishment. "Are you always this perceptive? I mean really, not in a million years would I think someone would pick up on how much I laugh or not."

"Well, people think it's weird when I notice things like that, but it's not very hard. I mean, you really, really like Ron's jokes and now you're just totally silent whenever he says anything. But, you know, I figured I would just ask if you were fine since we were alone and all, but I'll just let you do your homework…" Neville said, looking embarrassed and turning back down to the book open on his lap. Blaine paused for a second before going and walking back over to Neville and sitting next to him.

"No, it's okay, just… do you know what I'm upset about?" he asked, looking cautiously at Neville.

Neville looked back with a calculating look and said, "Do you still like Harry?"

Blaine groaned and flopped over backwards on Neville's bed, feeling sorry for himself. "It's like you're a Legilimens or something," he whined, putting all his pent up frustrated and very whine-worthy emotions into that one sentence so that Neville had to lean over his book and silently chuckle. But he sobered up and looked over his shoulder at the boy sprawled all over his bed that showed no signs of getting up. Blaine craned his neck upwards so his weary eyes met Neville's thoughtful ones.

"I could help you, if you'd like," Neville said, looking suddenly hopeful, almost desperate. Blaine knew this Neville; this would be the one all the way back from first year, eager to have friends and to feel helpful. Blaine laughed out loud.

"I don't think you can help me, Neville."

"But I'm sure I could! Don't… don't girls do that kind of thing? They help their friends get over guys…?"

Blaine sighed and propped himself up on his elbows. "Yeah, but they sit around and watch bad movies and cry and eat or something. That won't make me feel better at all."

"Well, we could find another boy you would like and… I dunno… focus your attention on him or something," Neville said with a shrug. "I mean, is a boy and a boy any different than a girl and a boy?"

"I guess not, but-"

"Then we could find a way to make that work!" Neville said, grinning at Blaine.

Blaine was about to finally give in and say yes when Harry and Ron walked in, followed by a windswept Dean and Seamus. Blaine jumped off Neville's bed as if it was made of nails and scurried over to his own to finish his work, where he was distracted by Dean constantly shooting sparks at the back of his head. Of course, he had to return that favour.

000

A few days later, and Neville hadn't been much of a bother to Blaine. They were sitting next to each other during classes, and aside from having to help him in the occasional potions class or DADA lesson, it was quite pleasant. Everyone thought Neville was a bit of a dunderhead, but Blaine was starting to see different. As Neville had noticed Blaine feeling bad, Blaine noticed that Neville was just extremely nervous during classes. He could sympathize with that, in first year Blaine had been so anxious to prove to everyone that he was a good wizard that he blew things up almost as much as Seamus. That had started a friendship between the two boys, however, and poor Neville didn't get so lucky.

But by the end of the week, Blaine owed Neville about a million favours. Every time Blaine turned his head to gaze at Harry, Neville prodded his leg and directed his attention towards the teacher again or tugged on Blaine's sleeve to let him know that he had spilled a potion or accidentally charmed himself or something of the like. Blaine was starting to think Neville was doing it on purpose, but the apologetic, nervous look on his face made that almost impossible to believe.

Neville hadn't bothered him much about his love life, save for occasionally pointing out a cute boy in the corridor. Blaine would either shake his head so fast his wand would fall out from behind his ear, or either start hissing a million reasons why they were awful into Neville's ear until he was shoved away.

"Finn? Puck?"

"Ew! No, they're like, the straightest guys on the planet and Puck's kind of a jerk. And he spends too much time staring at Quinn Fabray, have you noticed?"

"I hadn't, actually…"

Their first apparation lesson came quickly, and the older students in the school were buzzing with excitement. Blaine and Neville sat together at breakfast, Dean and Seamus next to him. Seamus was peering over at the Hufflepuff table, where Sam was sitting.

"I wish he hadn't gotten that girlfriend. Ravenclaw isn't she?" he asked. Dean nodded, and Neville looked over at the Ravenclaw table.

"Which one is she?" Neville asked, and Dean pointed her out.

"The dark, heavy looking one over there. She's actually rather pretty, you know, I heard she's sort of a diva…"

"It's like you researched her or something." Seamus teased, nudging Dean. Dean shoved back, and Blaine and Neville laughed. Blaine didn't care for that conversation much either way, so he changed the subject.

"You guys are all going to the apparation lesson today, right?" he asked, buttering a piece of toast, and Dean said "Of course!"

"What do you think will happen?"

"Not much," Dean said. "I picked up a book on it; someone left it in the common room. It said first time apparaters won't be able to do much just… you know… maybe loose an eyebrow or something. Not much."

Blaine shrugged and started to eat.

Later that day, everyone eligible for the apparation lessons filed into the Great Hall. They all peered around to get a good look at the Ministry wizard and Blaine assumed it would be hard to anyway. He looked extremely fragile and breakable, but he was smiling up at all of them. Blaine sighed. They had been some of the last to enter the Great Hall, so they were in the back of the jumble of people and could hardly see what was going on.

However, what Blaine clearly saw after a while was Professor McGonagall calling for quiet and he and his friends were quiet at once.

"Good morning," said the little man in the front of the room. "My name is Wilkie Twycross and I shall be your Ministry Apparation instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare you for your Apparation Tests in this time-"

Then Professor McGonagall cut in by snapping at a boy Blaine didn't know to be quiet. Everyone turned to see who it was, and Blaine just saw a pale, blonde, rather tired and almost unhealthy looking boy having an intense, whispered argument with one of his beefy friends. The boys were quiet, but looking resentful. The Ministry Wizard, seemingly unfazed, ploughed on.

"-by which time, many of you may be ready to take your tests. As you may know, it is usually impossible to Apparate and Disapparate within Hogwarts. The headmaster has lifted this enchantment, purely within the Great Hall, for one hour, so as to enable you to practice. May I emphasize that you will not be able to Apparate outside the walls of this Hall, and you would be unwise to try. I would like each of you to place yourselves so you have a clear five feet in front of you."

Everyone started to scramble to get to a good, open space, and in that shuffle Neville moved over to Blaine for a second and pointed out a Slytherin boy. The same Slytherin boy that he had sat with during potion and had won the Felix Felicis with. He still hadn't used it.

"What about him? Er… I don't know whether to call him 'pretty' or 'handsome'," Neville said, and Blaine grinned.

"I know him," Blaine said. "He's great at potions."

Neville looked up at him eagerly. "Do you like him?"

But then, the shuffling about stopped and Blaine and Neville rushed to find their own places as the lesson began. Blaine couldn't help notice, however, that Harry was standing over behind Draco Malfoy, the boy who got in trouble for talking.

The teachers yelled for quiet again and Blaine's attention snapped back from the front of the classroom. Twycross said a few things Blaine couldn't make out just then and little wooden hoops appeared in front of them all.

"The important thing to remember when Apparating are the three D's! Destination, Determination, Deliberation! Step one: Fix your mind firmly on the desired destination, in this case, the interior of your hoop. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now."

Blaine looked around rather than focusing and saw many of his classmates doing the same. He stole another glance at Kurt Hummel before staring into his hoop.

"Step two: focus your determination to occupy the visualized space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from your mind to every single particle of your body!"

Blaine stared into his hoop, eyebrows knotted on his forehead and lips pursed. He felt rather stupid.

"Step three, and only when I give the command… turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with deliberation! On my command, now… one, two, THREE!"

Blaine turned on the spot and instead of doing something amazing, he just staggered around a bit, feeling embarrassed. He looked for Neville, who was flat on his face, and that made him feel better. But as opposed to everyone in the Hall, looking rather disappointed, Blaine was filled with a desire to do it again and again until he got it right.

Everyone's second attempts were no more satisfactory, but just as laughable. Everyone tried again and again. It started to dawn on everyone in the Hall that this was going to be much, much harder than adult wizards make it seem. While this made everyone want to give up, however, it made Blaine more fiercely determined. He tried and tried and with every passing attempt he felt more passionate about getting it right. However, the only person who made it far announced her achievement with a screech of pain. Susan Bones had made it into her hoop, but she had left one of her legs behind.

When the hour was up, Wilkie Twycross and the teachers left the room, and students started to file out of the Great Hall and Blaine, Dean, Seamus and Neville found each other in the crowd.

"You guys go ahead; I want to talk to Neville," Blaine said with a little flick of his hand, and Seamus and Dean shrugged and walked away. Blaine and Neville started to make their own much slower way up to the castle.

"It feels weird just picking a person from the crowd and deciding to have a crush on him." Blaine said awkwardly.

Neville looked as though he had nothing to say on the subject, but then said, "But you know that Slytherin boy. I don't think he would be mad or anything. And I heard that someone proved you could actually start to like someone else if you focus hard enough on them."

Neville said this in an almost nervous, I'm-trying-to-be-helpful voice. Blaine looked back; Kurt Hummel was just leaving the Great Hall. He passed by Blaine without a glace and their shoulders knocked together. Blaine sighed.

"But there's something about him… I know he looks like a girl Neville, but he is tough. Really tough. And as far as I could see, he kinda takes random things really personally," Blaine said.

But he could already feel it happening. He was starting to think about Kurt. Not quite develop feelings for him, but he was going to start noticing him in the corridors and at breaks and he was going to become so much more than just a potions partner. Blaine sighed again and walked back up into Gryffindor tower.


	10. Even Though Love Leads to Bad Decisions

"I'm breaking up with you."

"What?"

"I'm breaking up with you."

Quinn was so proud of how she could keep her calm demeanour even when she was breaking up with someone who was supposed to be the father of her baby.

She knew she had to do it that morning. Her baby bump was becoming more and more apparent. She knew Finn would think this was a cause to stay together, but she knew so much more than he did. The only problem she had was that they were out in the courtyard. Anyone could walk up and know what was going on.

"But… what about the baby…?" Finn asked, sounding concerned and confused.

"So you don't care about me, only the baby?" Quinn persisted, and this caused Finn to be quiet.

He had so much attention focused on the baby, he was pouring all his energy into just stressing out about it. It had almost made his love for Quinn evaporate. It didn't help that Rachel Berry wouldn't get out of his head. After years of bothering him, she suddenly just spent these last two months totally clammed up. He knew Rachel, and he knew that meant she was up to something. Now, he couldn't believe what was happening to him.

When he didn't answer, Quinn sighed.

"You only love the baby, and I don't plan on keeping her. So it's over, Finn."

Finn's mouth moved, but no sound came out. He was just floundering, not sure what to do. Quinn pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows as if to say ''Well, you brought this onto yourself."

Just as Quinn thought she was done, Noah Puckerman walked up, looking full of pent up anger. It was obvious he had been eavesdropping. Quinn suddenly felt the very neat, clean structure she'd made out of her and Finn's breakup crumble to the ground. Her mouth opened much like Finn's.

"What's up, guys?" Puck said in a way that made it apparent he knew exactly what was going on. He was itching to put his arm protectively around Quinn's shoulders. He hadn't talked to her in a few months, he respected how she wanted her privacy, but now that her stomach was inflating something seemed to awaken inside him and he wanted to be around her and support her. Quinn inched away from him. Finn's eyes darted between them.

"Oh, I just walked in on something private. Sorry," he said, sneering. He looked as if he was going to back away from them and return to his business, which Quinn was grateful for. She knew how protective Finn could be as well. But suddenly, Puck turned to face Quinn. He reached out and put his big, warm hand on her shoulder. Her heart fluttered in that way she absolutely hated.

"You ok?" Puck asked, his voice low and soft and very, very comforting and Quinn nodded, trying to smile at him. Everything she tried to keep calm just got complicated, and she just wanted to collapse into his arms. It wasn't because they were Puck's arms, but because he was big. She could just lean in and rest her head against his chest and take in the smell of him and his arms would wrap around her and make her feel safe.

His eyes darted down to her belly just long enough for Finn to see and understand.

"You know?" Finn asked, in shock. Quinn saw this to be a precursor to anger. Puck did too, he actually liked Finn. Quinn was what was distancing them.

"Yeah, I know. What do you think?" Puck asked, seeing an oncoming fight and running to it head first. Quinn took a step back from him, looking rather scared. Seeing her fearful made both of the boys even angrier at each other.

"Why did she tell you?" Finn asked an ugly snarl on his face. Puck almost laughed.

"Dude, she didn't need to _tell _me."

Within the next two seconds, both boys had their wands out and were aiming them at each other. Quinn didn't know what to do, and for the first time in her life she couldn't do anything to stop the situation. She forgot everything she knew about being soothing and kind, she forgot how to calm down boys or herself, she couldn't even cast a shield charm on one of them. All her memories had flown away.

"Hey!" a bossy, loud voice cried out and three people walked over to them. Finn recognized all three of them. Puck looked a bit confused, and Quinn heaved a sigh of relief and shook a bit.

Rachel marched up to them and put her hands on her hips. Hermione Granger had her hands folded over her chest and she looked a bit angry at them. Kurt Hummel just looked exasperated and a bit embarrassed. Finn found a bit of comfort in seeing Rachel and Kurt, who was soon to be his step-brother. They didn't talk a lot, but they had spent time together. But a million familiar faces wouldn't be able to calm him down then.

Why didn't Quinn tell him?

Why didn't Puck tell him?

Why couldn't they trust him to know things that important?

He couldn't believe he had just lost a girlfriend, a best friend, and his daughter all in one. He didn't want to believe it; he wanted it to be a dream.

"You know there's no fighting on school grounds!" Rachel said, trying not to look at Finn, trying not to blame him.

"Rachel, I think we're walking in on something private…" Kurt said, tapping Rachel's shoulders. Hermione's expression softened at Kurt's words.

"Is that true?" Hermione asked to the group before them.

Puck and Finn were both beyond words, but Quinn nodded and suddenly she seemed much shakier than before. She bit her lower lip, and Kurt could tell what she was doing to herself actually hurt. He cringed and he and Hermione walked over to Quinn, who seemed unable to move without help. Kurt willingly wrapped his arms around her shoulders and started whispering little soothing words in her ear, Hermione walking just a bit behind them, rubbing Quinn's back soothingly and looking genuinely concerned for this girl she'd never met. Rachel felt a sudden rush of pride towards her friends.

Rachel turned to face the boys again. "I don't know what's going on here, but you two need to think about what you did to make that poor girl feel that way," she said angrily.

For a very painful moment her eyes connected with Finn's, and in that moment both of them were very, very vulnerable. He looked like he needed to lean on her, and she wanted to help him so badly. But she knew everything about it was wrong, so she turned on her heel and walked off.

Rachel caught up to her friends and the Slytherin girl, who she had seen around the common room but never really talked to. They were in the same year even, but Rachel just never stopped to talk to her. She thought the girl's name was Quinn.

"What happened back there?" Hermione said, looking a bit anxious. Rachel suddenly felt awful for liking Finn; she realized that this was probably his girlfriend… or ex-girlfriend, by the looks of what just happened. Rachel hated herself for feeling excited Finn was now single. Her mind darted back to the love potion in the bottom of her trunk. _Tomorrow night, _she thought.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Quinn said, trying to regain her formal dignity. Kurt shrugged.

"You're Finn's step-brother, aren't you?" Quinn said, looking at Kurt the way a little girl looks at a new doll. Her eyes were shining with want and desperation for a new friend. Kurt noticed and was not threatened. He knew the position to fill with her now.

"I am. But if it makes you feel any better, I'm on your side, whatever it is. Finn can be an utter moron. He doesn't know what he's doing most of the time."

Quinn sniffled.

"Tell me about it. I know a boy who rather acts like Finn; he doesn't know how to treat girls at _all._" Hermione said, jumping into the conversation. Quinn almost smiled. Rachel was eerily silent the rest of break.

The other three spent the rest of the break talking about how boys are dunderheads.

"Hermione, you said you would, you promised! You promised, and it's the right time! You want Ron to like you, right? He doesn't even look like he wants to be around Lavender anymore, you want to give him that little extra push, right?" Rachel persisted, and Hermione was becoming irritated fast. They were alone in the Great Hall at night, and Hermione was feeling anxious about breaking the rules.

"I know! It might be the right time for you to confuse Finn even more than he is already, but I don't want to go down that road with Ron… yet," Hermione said, crossing her arms. Rachel's eyes searched Hermione up and down before she sighed.

"Fine. Fine, if you feel that way. But I'm going to stick to my commitments and go through with this plan," Rachel said, looking up at Hermione. Hermione puffed up with anger and looked down at Rachel.

"I love Finn," Rachel confessed in a quiet voice. "And I don't just want to manipulate him. But sometimes, that's the only way to make people see sense. I know you love Ron. I see the way you look at him. And you miss Harry too. You miss hanging out with him. I know Kurt and I are your second choice of friends. You're going to grow old with those two, no one can deny that. But if you hesitate, Ron's going to go and find someone else! And you're going to have to sit around and watch him raise kids that aren't yours and you'll be jealous forever. Harry's got his own thing going on, but you and Ron were _meant_ for each other. But wait too long… and he'll be lost forever."

Hermione's deepest concerns about Ron were verified and she held out her hand.

"Give me my share of love potion." Hermione said, her voice low. Rachel looked at her with concern and took out the love potion, pouring about half of it into a different vial and handing it to Hermione.

"I hope you're wrong," Hermione said quietly.

"So do I," Rachel said.

Hermione walked back to Gryffindor tower and lay in bed, unable to cry. She thought about the love potion for all of the next day, and what Rachel was planning to do with it that night. She looked at both Ron and Harry with new eyes, and felt grateful she knew where the kitchens were. Dobby was a cheerful elf to talk to.

000

That night, Rachel walked up to Finn in the halls as he was heading to dinner. He looked empty and broken.

"Hello Finn. I… I wanted to talk to you," she said. Something like hope shone in Finn's eyes suddenly.

"Sure," he said, and didn't argue as Rachel took him to a little hidden corridor Hermione had shown her.

He didn't even mind that Rachel grabbed his hand. Rachel pulled a big tapestry away to reveal a little wooden door. She opened it, her heart pounding, and Finn had to lean down to go through. There was a wide, empty corridor there. While Finn was still sad about Quinn and her baby girl, he was impressed that Rachel had found that place, or so he thought. Rachel led him over to a little table she had set up in front of a loveseat. She sat down, looking up at him in a way that indicated he should do the same. He sat down, and Rachel offered him some Butterbeer she had already put on the table. He just held it in his hands for a minute before Rachel said, "How are you?"

"What?"

"How are you? You looked so upset the other day, with Puckerman and Quinn Fabray… was she your girlfriend?" Rachel asked softly. Finn chuckled in a way that implied that absolutely nothing was funny to him right then.

"Was," he said, and Rachel reached up and rubbed his shoulder as a way of saying she was sorry. She felt guilty about what she was doing, but not guilty enough to stop. Finn took a sip of his drink. Rachel tensed up in her seat.

"So are you… um, how are you feeling?" Rachel asked, trying to sound cheerful and casual. Finn shrugged.

"It was kind of… it was kind of a big loss," Finn said. Rachel looked down at her feet.

"She was very pretty," Rachel mumbled, wishing Finn would drink more. He took a big gulp, and Rachel felt a pang go through her chest. Guilt mixed with anticipation. Finn only had half of his glass left and Rachel noticed he was looking at her with new eyes when she allowed her eyes to travel upward.

"I bet you're really going to miss her. If she's a lot to lose…" Rachel said, finally looking up at Finn.

"Th-there are other fish in the sea, I guess," Finn said, downing the rest of his glass. There was a silence that was only tense for Rachel and then Finn said "You look really beautiful tonight."

Rachel grinned and blushed. "Thank you, Finn," she said quietly. Finn inched a bit closer to her.

"I've never noticed it before, but you have really pretty eyes," Finn said, a little grin appearing on his face. Rachel was full on smiling then, her heart pounding.

"I'm kind of starting to think… maybe loosing Quinn isn't too bad. Since I wasn't good enough for her and her kid… maybe I need someone else…" Finn said, and Rachel's bliss stopped like a muggle's car screeching to a sudden halt.

"Her- Her kid?" Rachel asked. She looked at Finn intensely, and Finn rolled his eyes.

"Quinn's pregnant?" Rachel asked, her eyes widened dramatically and her heart felt as though it dropped into her stomach. No one at Hogwarts had gotten pregnant before graduating.

"But I might as well not have known for all the stuff she told me," Finn said resentfully, but suddenly became cheerful again. "But I don't want to think about her. I really like you, Rachel…" Finn said, and Rachel's emotions were suddenly tangled in each other, confusion, pity and shock here mixed with love and happiness and she knew what she just heard would ruin her night.

"Rachel, would you like to go out with me again?" Finn asked suddenly, looking at her with big eyes, smiling. Rachel's mouth opened and closed. "There's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, I can take you, I'll buy you whatever you want…" Finn said, looking eager and desperate all at once.

"I think it got cancelled, Finn, and isn't this a little soon? And… are you the father?" Rachel asked.

Finn shook his head. "I just want to forget about Quinn. She has Puckerman. And now all I want is you."

Finn wrapped his arms around Rachel, and she squirmed out of them. She suddenly didn't feel so comfortable. Finn looked extremely heartbroken when Rachel pulled away from him.

"Rachel, please go out with me. Please," He pulled his wand out of his pocket and waved it. A bouquet of flowers appeared. Rachel hated herself for feeling flattered.

"Really Finn, that's very sweet, but I don't think… you just broke up with Quinn yesterday…" Rachel stuttered, hardly knowing what to think anymore.

Finn waved his wand again, and a silver ring appeared.

"Finn!" Rachel said shrilly, but Finn picked up the ring and dropped to his knees in front of Rachel, knocking the table behind him over. He didn't even blink.

"Rachel Berry, will you be my girlfriend?" Finn asked, holding the ring up to her as if he was proposing.

Rachel's heart was beating so fast it felt as though it was in her throat. She took the ring from him and slipped it onto her finger. Finn looked happier than she had seen him in a very long time. All year, in fact. Even when they were dating and that broke her heart a bit.

"Yes, I'll be your girlfriend, Finn. In a few weeks. When you're not on love potion and you've forgiven me and you're over your breakup… I'll be your girlfriend," Rachel said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

She smiled a bit sadly at him, regretting slipping him that damned potion and feeling very embarrassed. However, Finn only seemed to hear that Rachel would be his girlfriend and he leapt back onto the couch and kissed her. His hand was cupping her face and he was kissing her in a way Rachel had only dreamt of being kissed before. When Finn pulled away from her, Rachel was completely frazzled. But she was smiling, and that's all that mattered to him. He kissed her again and again, and Rachel looked happier and happier every time. That made Finn's heart beat so fast he didn't know what to do but make her happier.

They left the hidden hallway around one in the morning, and Rachel thought it wasn't a total loss.

"Rachel, I have a bone to pick with you," Finn said to her in the corridor next day. He pulled her aside as they were walking to class. Rachel had been dreading this; she knew it was going to happen.

"Did you sneak me love potion?" Finn asked in disbelief. Rachel didn't know whether to lie or tell the truth.

"Yes, I did Finn, but-" Rachel started, ready to start lying like mad to make this work out.

Finn, however, cut her off. "You know that was really uncool, right? I told you something Quinn really wanted to keep quiet, and you made me like you when I really… I'm not ready for another relationship. I don't want to have to deal with you right now, Rachel. That was a really, really bad move."

He stalked away angrily, and he couldn't help thinking about how he just _knew _Rachel was a better person.


	11. Even Though Love Needs Nurturing

Artie Abrams felt awful, just awful. Ginny had been riding on his lap to classes and kissing him and he didn't feel like he loved her anymore. He didn't have the courage to tell her though, and he hated how guilty he felt. He didn't dislike her, he thought she was a very lovely girl and that she was very funny, and he didn't want to hurt her.

But with every single dispassionate kiss, he felt like Ginny was catching onto him. He didn't want to take his chances with their dissolving relationship becoming sloppy.

"Ginny?" Artie asked apprehensively. They were in the middle of a very rowdy Charms class, and he had a particularly strong rush of courage and very stupidly thought that he had to do it right then. He hadn't yet realized he'd be sitting next to her the entire lesson, and that it would be very awkward.

"Yeah?" she asked, not looking at him. She was trying to make a pillow do back flips all the way into a box in the middle of the room, and no one but Hermione Granger had done it yet.

"I have something I need to get off my chest." Artie said, his vicious determination flying away fast.

He didn't know what he was doing anymore. His mind was a mess. He looked over at Luna, who didn't even seem to be paying attention to the lesson. She had been like a ray of hope to him lately. When little problems like homework or his almost nonexistent social life or the fact he was falling out of love with his girlfriend consumed his mind he would look over at her, looking so peaceful and at ease with life, and he would relax too. He wanted to talk to her more, but whenever he thought about rolling over to her, his palms would start sweating and he would hear his heart pounding in his ears so he would turn away and distract himself with something else.

"What's up?" Ginny asked. Her pillow did a few back flips, but then seemed to get tired and flopped over on the desk again. She scowled at it.

Artie felt himself starting to sweat. He always did when he was nervous, and he hated it. The words he was trying to say got caught in his throat, they jumbled and chocked him.

"I- I uh, I think, we should…" he looked around the room desperately, looking for something to make the situation better. Ginny was looking at him curiously now. But he saw Harry Potter, glaring daggers at him then more softly at Ginny. His friend Ron noticed and then Harry looked as though he was wildly explaining something to him. Ron looked confused and unconvinced. Artie swallowed. Ok, so Harry liked Ginny. Or something. How did that help him?

"Ithinkweshouldtakeabreak," Artie said, looking up at Ginny. She seemed to get the gist of what he was saying, but it seemed she wanted the specifics because she leaned towards him a bit and said, "What?"

Artie closed his eyes and thought about Luna. He took a big, deep, calming breath. He was a man. He could do this. This was going to be the first of many breakups, he had to start somewhere.

"I think," he said calmly, looking at her with a steady gaze, "That we should take a break. Maybe… for a long time."

"From our relationship?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow. Artie pursed his lips and nodded. Ginny sighed and looked at her pillow.

"I really didn't want to mess this up, but…" Artie said, but Ginny cut him off.

"You like someone else," she said, more calmly than he had expected. Artie was flabbergasted.

"What?" he asked.

"You like Luna Lovegood, a lot. It's kind of noticeable… I've actually been expecting you to break up with me for a while and… you know, yeah. You really do like her," Ginny said with a little shrug.

Artie looked up at Luna, trying for some sort of conformation. He wanted to know if that was true or not. That time, Luna actually noticed him. She looked at him and smiled, completely disregarding her work for two seconds and focusing all her attention on Artie. His heart started pounding and he had to fight back a painfully large urge to smile. He turned back to Ginny, who had her head in her hand and was waving her wand feebly.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think Harry Potter likes you," Artie said, trying to sound comforting. Either way, Ginny did look slightly more cheerful the rest of the lesson.

After his break-up with Ginny, Artie had told himself all day, _you're going to go talk to her, you're going to go talk to her. _He tried to figure out why she made him so nervous. Maybe it was her selective use of logic, as compared to the way he used it all the time. It might be the eerie way that she didn't seem to need to blink as much as other people. Maybe it was that the only person she seemed to hang out with was the biggest boy in Ravenclaw, Dave Karofsky. Artie knew him and thought he was okay, but still didn't think that he should hang around Slytherin's so much. In his opinion, they were generally a bad influence.

That night in the common room, he was pressuring himself to make his move. He knew they were in the habit of getting up and leaving, probably to talk to people of other houses. But they were still there, later than usual tonight, and Artie was clenching and unclenching his hands around the armrests in his wheelchair. He finally just tried to drop his nervousness and took his hands off his armrests and put them on his wheels.

"Hey guys," he said with a smile when he rolled up. Dave Karofsky looked a bit protective of someone entering their little group, but Luna smiled to herself.

"Hello, Artie," she said, not looking up from the essay she was completing. There was a smudge of ink on her nose. Artie thought it was adorable.

"Have you met Dave?" she asked, sounding perfectly curious. Artie looked up and smiled at Dave, who seemed to be relaxing.

"Yeah, I have. We're in the same dorm," Artie said with a little nod. Dave looked down at Luna.

There was a brief pause before Artie said, "What you working on?"

Luna stared at her essay in mild frustration and her nose scrunched up a bit.

"An essay for Snape. I'm not very good at any of his classes, see. He's too mean to the other students for me to concentrate," Luna said, strangely calm. Artie nodded.

"Yeah. He's kind of harsh to the Hufflepuff's and I don't like to generalize houses but I don't really think they know how to fight back," Artie said with a shrug.

"Uh, we actually know a Hufflepuff girl who could take Snape," Dave said with a little smile, finally jumping into the conversation.

"Well cool! Like I said, I don't want to stereotype a whole house," Artie said with a shrug.

They were finally relaxing into the conversation and were all finally comfortable talking to one another. True, Dave did lean in protectively to Luna when he saw some of Artie's more entranced looks, but the night went along very smoothly.

At least Artie thought so, as he stared dreamily up at his dorm ceiling, his heart still beating a bit faster than normal.

000

Santana was a bit nervous. She had been nervous all day, from morning until night. She was meeting Dave tonight and they would be completely alone from the very first time they met. But they both agreed that it would be better if they started to talk about their relationship issues in private. Santana, however, got ahead of the game that morning.

She walked up to Kurt Hummel in the Slytherin common room that morning as he was reading a book on boggarts, dementors and other fear-inducing magical creatures for Snape. She sat down right across from him and just grinned devilishly, not saying anything. Even though Kurt was ignoring her, she knew that he had noticed her. After a good thirty seconds of just sitting there, Kurt closed his book and looked up at her, apparently very annoyed and not hiding it at all.

"Can I help you?" he asked irritably, looking like he wanted to hex her. Santana kept grinning.

"Hey. Kurt Hummel, right?" Santana said in a falsely breathy, sweet voice. She cocked her head charmingly and swayed a bit in her chair. Kurt wasn't falling for her sweet routine. He had watched her acting like a jerk to other students for six years and though they weren't really friends, he had seen her 'sweet' routine.

"That's me," Kurt said, still completely unamused.

"Remember that one time when you taught my friend Brittany that French song?" Santana asked, still smiling. Kurt didn't even bat an eyelash. Santana took it as a yes.

"Well, I still haven't repaid that favour. See, my friend and I have this deal and believe it or not, it involves you."

"Oh no," Kurt muttered, letting his head fall into his hand. Santana wasn't disheartened, and she was going to make everything work out whether Kurt liked it or not.

"Now tell me this, do you remember that Herbology lesson you had with Dave Karofsky?" Santana asked, suddenly sounding a lot more threatening than sweet. Kurt raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yes… I do," Kurt said, slow and cautious. He didn't know what she was trying to figure out, but he was wary around her. "But I don't see what this has to do with Brittany or repaying a favour."

He looked at her skeptically.

"Well, if you remember Dave, you'll find out exactly how everything goes together," Santana said, very cheerful again. Suddenly, a very tired look swept across Kurt's face. He leaned into Santana, grateful for the little table between them.

"Are you trying to set me up with Dave?" Kurt asked, his voice lower and slower than his usual quick, snappy, high-pitched voice. Santana leaned in as well.

"Depends. Does he have what you want in a boyfriend?" she asked, looking mean again. He glared at her.

"I've met him once Santana. He's nice. He's handsome. I wouldn't mind talking to him again. But I don't know him," Kurt said. He sighed and leaned back a bit. "I'll tell you what, Santana. I'll let you try and set Dave up with me. I have been thinking about him lately and I would like to talk… so do whatever you want."

"Wait, you're giving me free reign with your romantic life?" Santana said, almost in disbelief. Kurt nodded seriously.

"Pretty much." he said. Santana let out a little breathless laugh.

"Okay, I'm tempted to make both your lives a living, embarrassing hell, but for Dave's sake, I won't. See you soon, Kurt," she said before getting up and leaving. Kurt rolled his eyes and just opened his book back up, reading as though nothing had happened.

But as her and Dave's meeting approached, Santana was growing a bit jittery. She even snapped at some first year Ravenclaw's in Spanish for walking too close to her in the corridors. They looked a bit concerned for her as well as themselves as they walk away. She walked almost jerkily to the Room of Requirement. When she got there, she walked three times back and forth in front of the empty wall, thinking about their usual meeting room and Dave. The door blossomed into view and she walked in. Dave was sitting there, practicing his Transfiguration homework. Santana walked in and sat across from him. Their eyes met and there was an extremely awkward silence.

"Okay, I think we can both agree that you help me first," Santana said bossily. Dave's uncomfortable look was wiped off his face to be replaced by an indignant one.

"When did I ever agree to that?" he asked angrily.

"I did for you since I talked to Kurt for you this morning," Santana said, giving him a triumphant look. He blushed, and she recounted everything from her encounter with Kurt, playing up the bit about Dave being handsome just a bit more than necessary and leaving out the part about Kurt catching onto what Santana was doing and her new deal with him. Dave sat shifting a bit in his seat, which was something Santana knew he did when he was uncomfortable, but he was also obviously trying not to look too extremely pleased.

"Okay, so help me with Britt!" Santana said impatiently right after her story was finished. Dave looked up at the ceiling, hoping inspiration would fall from it and hit him on the face. He had never had to try and impress a girl before, even if it was through someone else.

"Well… how long have you known her?" Dave asked, scratching the back of his head, still gazing at the ceiling. Santana looked at the wall thoughtfully.

"Since we were like, seven," she said. Dave looked a bit surprised; he didn't know they had known each other for that long.

"How long have you liked her?" Dave asked. It was Santana's turn to feel a bit out of place.

"Since we were like, seven," Santana said, determinedly staring at the wall on the right side of Dave. He didn't know what to say to that, so he just pressed on with the questions.

"Is there anything in particular she likes?" Dave said. Santana looked at him like he just said something stupid.

"Be specific." she snapped.

"She likes cats, right?" Dave said, now speaking as if Santana was an overemotional four year old. But inspiration dawned on Santana's face.

"Yeah!" she said enthusiastically, but then her happy expression was exchanged for a downtrodden one right away. "But I can't just get her a cat. That's really sudden," she mumbled, looking down.

"Well, like, get her used to getting presents first. Like, don't spoil her rotten, but, like, pick her a flower, then buy her a nice hair clip or something, then get her a cat collar and she'll be all 'What the hell?' but then you'll get her a cat and it'll be really cute… or something…" Dave said, trailing off. Santana grinned.

"Cool idea," she said. Dave grinned. But then he stopped smiling, looking at his friend seriously. "You should just talk to her too."

"What?" Santana asked.

"Talk to her. Like… I dunno… buy her a cat and then come out to her and then ask her out. But over time. Like, put a day in-between them all. Or weeks, whatever. But you can't just buy her a cat and expect her to love you."

Santana knew Dave was right, but she just mumbled, "You couldn't even come out to yourself. What do you know about relationships?"

Their little meeting ended soon after that comment, and Santana lay awake that night, wondering what kind of flowers Brittany liked.


	12. Even Though Love Can Be Surprising

Blaine Anderson was determined to talk to Kurt Hummel again. He was uncomfortable with making himself like someone, having to convince himself that someone was right for him. He had never been in a relationship, but he safely assumed that these things were supposed to happen naturally. But his curiosity was overwhelming him. He hadn't thought much of Kurt besides that he was a true Slytherin until Neville brought him up again.

Blaine knew they had a Potions lesson approaching and he wanted to sit with Kurt and talk with him again. Blaine knew he was going to feel awkward around Kurt. He knew all he would be able to see is him asking Kurt out, feel himself forcing his emotions to do something that wasn't real.

But screw that, he thought. He wanted to talk to the boy and he was going to talk to the boy. Either way, he couldn't deny Kurt was good looking, and he still couldn't choose whether to call him handsome or gorgeous.

He and Neville walked down to the dungeons together, discussing Quidditch. It was mostly Blaine talking and Neville feebly muttering about the little he knew. But as they entered Professor Slughorn's classroom, Blaine let Neville walk over to sit with Seamus and Dean and he walked over to the same little table where Hermione Granger, Kurt, and a girl he thought was called Rachel Berry. They all gave him rather strange looks as they sat down.

"Hey," he said cheerfully, starting to unpack his things and making it clear he wasn't in the wrong place. The other three started to slowly unpack their things, abandoning their conversation. Blaine was already feeling out of place, but he was not one to abandon anything halfway through. He was going to sit out the potions lesson and he was going to talk to Kurt and everything would work out. At least, that's what he told himself as Slughorn finished putting some ingredients away.

"All right! Class has started. Now since we studied antidotes just a few lessons ago, I thought it would be fun to do something a little different! Now, the Ministry doesn't want me teaching you how to brew poisons, but I think it would be good to test our ability to brew potentially, er, 'unhealthy' or 'damaging' potions. The Draught of the Living Death, for example. There are only a few in your potions book so choose the one you like and just tell me what it is before I grade it. You never know what you're going to need to brew in these changing times! You may begin."

"Hey, Kurt," Blaine said. Kurt just nodded as he took out his book and his ingredients.

"Hello Blaine!" Rachel said, and Hermione waved.

"How's school going?" Blaine asked casually, and Rachel and Hermione had exchanged significant looks.

Rachel was still extremely embarrassed about her night with Finn and Hermione wasn't coming up with any good ways to be friends with Harry and Ron again.

"Good," they both said at the same time, lying, and Blaine nodded in an approving sort of way. Then he leaned forward a bit, his arms folded in front of him and looked at Kurt with a small, flirtatious smile.

"And what about you, Kurt?" he asked. Kurt, who had already started on his potion, snapped his head back up to look at Blaine.

"Good." he said quietly. Rachel and Hermione grinned and Rachel nudged Hermione in the ribs with her elbow. They started their own separate conversation.

But before talking to Kurt, Blaine looked over his shoulder at Harry. He felt a dull ache in his chest. He was slowly becoming uninterested in the Boy Who Lived, but he wasn't completely out of love. Or adoration. Whatever it was he had, whatever made him blush and his heart pound like crazy, it was slowly fading away. He sighed and looked back at Kurt.

"So what are we working on?" Blaine asked, setting up his cauldron. Kurt looked at him curiously.

"This is an individual lesson," Kurt said, tipping some armadillo bile into his half finished potion. Blaine honestly wondered how this boy could be so good at potions.

"Well, I want to work with you," Blaine said determinedly, setting himself up. Kurt started to look a bit pestered.

"You're fine at potions, you can manage on your own," he said. Blaine paused, considering what he was going to say next.

"Yeah, but you're great at potions! Look, you're half done, and a half hour hasn't even passed! You really are brilliant at this…" Blaine said, cupping his head in one of his hands, leaning forward a little.

"Thank you," Kurt said, sounding embarrassed yet flattered and just overall quiet again.

"So where are we?" Blaine asked, flipping around in his book.

"The Draught of the Living Death, step sixteen," Kurt said, only paying attention to his cauldron and no longer looking at Blaine again.

"Following teacher's orders, huh?" Blaine asked with a little grin as he started working furiously to try and catch up with Kurt. Kurt rolled his eyes. "You get done faster if you do what they say. You don't have to like it." Then he noticed what Blaine was doing with his knife, viciously attacking a beetle that wouldn't calm down and stay still.

"No, no, no, no, no, no," Kurt said, reaching out and grabbing Blaine's wrist. "Don't do that. Just… just let me do it."

He let go of Blaine and grabbed his cutting board before he could object. Within a good twelve seconds, the beetle was neatly sliced and being dropped into Blaine's cauldron.

"I could have done that…" Blaine grumbled. Kurt scoffed.

"But you didn't," he said, and Blaine just sighed. He wasn't sure if this was going to work out… but it had so far. He noticed how fast and agile Kurt's hands were over his cauldron, and it was strangely attractive. His resolve was renewed. A comfortable silence passed and Kurt started to hum, then sing quietly. Blaine was suddenly paying rapt attention to Kurt rather than his work.

"You sing?" Blaine asked, looking at Kurt in a way that couldn't be described as anything but enchanted. Kurt looked up at him, unblushing.

"Yes." he said, adding his final ingredients to the potion and sitting back, looking satisfied with himself.

"I sing too," Blaine said, suddenly looking a bit too eager for the conversation.

But what Kurt didn't understand was that music was sometimes the only thing Blaine had to escape to. He had been teased once or twice, but nothing too bad at Hogwarts. But loving someone who couldn't love you back felt like a weight to him, forcing his shoulders and head down. His heart felt like an awfully heavy thing to carry. But when he felt so bad that he couldn't say something to someone, he sang it. He sang his heart out when he was alone, and he could tell he was good.

If Kurt shared that with him, he knew anything was possible.

"That's really… that's really cool," Kurt said, smiling a charming, genuine smile at Blaine. The thought of Blaine singing was incredibly attractive to Kurt. The thought of Blaine singing to him made him blush.

"You know, we really need to talk somewhere outside this potions classroom," Blaine said, smiling back at Kurt.

Kurt smile faded a bit as he thought of Santana and Dave. He did a quick few calculations in his mind. Santana had asked him about Dave first, and something deep inside him told him that he would be seeing a lot more of Blaine outside the classroom anyway. Dave was cute, he was smart and Kurt wanted to give him a fair chance. Kurt knew himself and he knew how far he would involve himself with a boy like Blaine. He might not ever come out of it. He knew what he wanted to do.

"Actually Blaine, I would rather wait… I have someone else I… that I need to spend time with," he said, and Blaine nodded, feeling like a wet towel had been thrown over his brief excitement. Kurt looked down reprovingly at Blaine's over-brewed potion.

"Here, let me help you with that," Kurt said, walking around to Blaine's side of the table. Their shoulders bumped several times during the course of the class and even Kurt couldn't fix Blaine's potion due to distractions.

"That was great!" Rachel said, as Hermione excused herself from their little group and Kurt and Rachel walked to their next class. "Blaine really likes you, couldn't you tell? God, the way he was _looking _at you…" she said, positively gushing. Kurt sighed.

"He asked me to hang out with him outside of class…" he mumbled. Rachel gasped.

"And you said yes!" she nearly shrieked.

Kurt looked at her sternly. "I said not yet. I want… I want to talk to Dave again."

"Are you still thinking about him?" Rachel asked in disbelief. But when she saw the look Kurt was giving him, she looked down and whined "Okay, fine, whatever makes you happy."

"Neville, I really think I should try to go after Kurt," Blaine said confidently as they left the potions classroom together.

"So you don't like Harry anymore?" Neville asked inquiringly, and Blaine had to pause for a moment before answering, staring at the back of Harry's head (he was walking in front of them) in a frustrated way.

"Not entirely. I mean… he was my first crush in a long time… but it only makes sense to try and get Kurt. I mean, he's gorgeous, he's funny, he can sing, he's obviously gay… but he said he wanted to spend some time with someone else though…"

"I think you should give him a little space," Neville said in a very honest tone of voice. Blaine looked down at his feet and didn't say anything.

"I mean you're only seen him twice, and… yeah. Don't these things take time?" Neville asked. Blaine shrugged.

"Depends," he said. "I just really want to hear him sing…"

000

"Hey, babe."

Quinn Fabray heard the words and whipped around. She knew that voice, it was _that _voice from _that _night, and no matter how many times she told herself it's Puck, Puck, Puck, it's just Puck, she wouldn't forget the first time he called her "babe", sounding so perfectly cocky.

"Hello, Puck," she said, allowing him to catch up with her in the hallway. She had her free period, but he was probably headed off to class since he was a Gryffindor. He didn't seem to be in any hurry, however.

"How are you?" Puck said, and beneath all his self-confident tones, there was genuine concern for her there. It was enough to make her heart melt. However, there was a guilty twinge in her chest as well.

"I'm good. How are you?" Quinn asked, her tone implying she was hiding something. But it didn't make much of a difference, she always sounded like she was keeping secrets. Puck just shrugged.

"I'm good. Y'know, same ol', same ol'. Uh, Quidditch and… yeah," Puck shrugged again.

Quinn looked up at him and blurted, "I want to see someone."

All of her life, Quinn had plans. Complex, scheming plans, twisted and winding, but they were always revealed. And even though Quinn Fabray spoke like she had a million, she never had a secret. Aside from this child she was carrying. So nothing was stopping her from telling Puck exactly what was on her mind.

"What? Someone else?" Puck asked, looking confused. Quinn stopped walking. So did he.

"I want to date Draco Malfoy," Quinn said, and she remembered what had happened to her just a few nights before.

_Quinn sat in the common room, alone. Draco Malfoy had walked up and sat next to her. She was feeling sour about her and Finn's breakup and about her baby girl. But Draco looked absolutely furious, but it was muted. As if he was trying and horribly failing to hide it. They sat, just sat, and didn't talk for a long time. Unfortunately, Quinn had taken to resting her hand on her stomach. Now that she was showing and almost obviously so, she found it a good place to rest her hand. And she didn't want this little girl once she was born, so moments like that were her only times to reach out and try to contact her daughter. _

_Draco wasn't sure his plan was working. Actually, he was positive. Professor Dumbledore had obviously not taken the poison, and they were far beyond the realm of "Headmaster, I intended to give this to you and I'm sorry it's late!"_

_It was the end of February. He didn't know what to do anymore. He was tired and sad and fed up, but he was also scared. He was so scared of the mark on his arm. He couldn't even bear to look at it when he showered. He was scared for his parents. He knew his father could deal with anything (or at least he thought so) but he didn't know what his mother would do if him and his father were gone. _

_"Do you know how to turn a bat into an eye patch?" _

_The words cut through the silence like a knife through butter, and Draco just stared at Quinn. _

_"We're supposed to know how for McGonagall," Quinn persisted, smirking a little then. Draco tried to clear his head. _

_"No. I haven't figured it out. And how does she expect us to learn if she doesn't let us take the bats out of class?" Draco said. Quinn sighed._

_"That doesn't make sense. I know McGonagall's a Gryffindor and all, but I think she's a really good teacher," Quinn said, looking at the fireplace rather than Draco. Draco looked at his feet._

_"I don't like her at all. She favours the Gryffindor's; she gives less homework when Quidditch is coming and she's always whining. She can't expect us to get everything right the first time," Draco said, his anger from the past few months events seeping into his words about McGonagall. Quinn gave him that icy, petrifying look that he had grown accustomed to. The one that said "Don't challenge me. I'll make sure you won't win."_

_"You're acting moody lately," Quinn remarked, still talking to the fireplace. Her hand shifted a bit on her stomach. Draco noticed. _

_"It's nothing that concerns you," Draco said. Quinn nodded. She usually would insist he tell her, but she was starting to respect the fact that everyone had things they wanted to keep to themselves. _

_"Okay," Quinn said. _

_"Quinn…?" Draco asked slowly, and he loved the way her name sounded when he said it. When she turned to look at him, his heart beat rapidly. It always did when she looked at him. _

_"Yes?" _

_"I need to ask you something. It's rather important," he said. Quinn suddenly shifted in her chair, looking a lot more interested._

_"What is it?" she asked. Her hand slipped off her stomach. But that's what Draco was staring at, her hand and her stomach. Quinn knew what he was going to ask before he said it. _

_"Are you pregnant?" he asked, sounding disdainful. He sounded as outright as she had always been. She respected that about him, but then she was just scared. Just scared that more people would know. No one needed to know. _

_"What on Earth would make you think that?" Quinn asked, almost laughing just to keep up the charade. But Draco snorted as well; it was a small, annoying sound. It made Quinn's fear turn to anger. _

_"Please, Quinn, don't lie to me. You're showing," he said, in one of those "You know I'm not stupid and you couldn't have kept this from me forever" voices that Quinn had been hearing so much of lately. Quinn pursed her lips and nodded, no longer wanting to look at Draco anymore. After a few seconds of this tense silence, Draco suddenly realized Quinn thought that he was judging her. She made as though she was going to get up and leave, looking around the common room even though no one was there to hear them. _

_"Wha - Quinn! You think I care that you're pregnant? Really, are you just going to leave? I couldn't care less! I mean, my mom had me early and her mother had her… well, I'm not saying she was as young as you, but still… you really think… I would hate you or something just for this?" _

_That was when Quinn Fabray fell in love with Draco Malfoy. _

_With the people that mattered most to her playing up her pregnancy like it was the only issue in the world, it was so amazingly relieving to hear otherwise from someone she trusted, cared for, even. And she felt so special, so strangely treasured, that a boy that was so willing to judge others was point-blank refusing to judge her. She had always appreciated his calmness, his quick access to a comeback that she knew everything would fall into place soon. _

_But never like this._

_However, that was how it happened. It was unexpected and glorious, and Quinn sat right back in her chair and stared at Draco with new eyes. _

_"It's a girl," Quinn mumbled. Draco looked at her belly, his face emotionless._

_"I bet she looks like you," he said, and Quinn desperately hoped so inside her mind. She wanted her little girl to grow up pretty, no matter who her parents ended up being. _

_"Can I ask who the father is?" Draco asked, still looking emotionless. Quinn sighed, snapping back to reality._

_"I don't really think you need to know that yet. But I can tell you that it was a complete accident," Quinn said, looking far more tired than a sixteen year old girl ever should. Draco kept his mouth shut._

_They spent the rest of the night just talking. Not even about the baby, for which Quinn was grateful, but about other things. School, life, home. The future. The past. They got to know each other. At the end of the night, when they both agreed it was time to get some sleep, Draco leaned in and swiftly kissed Quinn's cheek before heading off to bed. Quinn felt as though the spot where he had kissed was ten times warmer than the rest of her face and she reached up her fingers to touch it in an odd sort of wonder._

"So you want to go out with the little kid? He's a tool! Come on, Quinn, tell me you know that!" Puck said angrily. Then he leaned in and said in a low gruff voice, "He's a little freaking kid. You need someone who's ready to be a dad to take care of that baby! I wanna do that for you, Quinn, I wanna be that for you. I wanna grow up with you and have this kid and like it. We could be happy, we could get a house. But this Draco kid is not right for you! He won't want the kid and he won't take care of it. He'll leave you with nothing!"

"You are so insensitive! You know I'm not keeping her. I don't want a house with you and I don't want a life with you! Neither of us really want that, Puck. You're not ready to be a dad. This was all one big accident, and in a few months, we'll be able to forget all this…"

"Forget? You think I can forget?" Puck said in angry astonishment. "I want this little girl; I want her to grow up with me as her daddy! I'm not going to just forget! When you give her up she's not going to just drop off the face of the planet!"

Quinn saw a little bit of Puck that she recognized. It was the part that she loved, the part that made her agree to have sex. He was strong, he was good, he was brave. Quinn sighed and just walked away from him. Puck didn't have anything else to say to her, so he walked in the other direction, fuming.


	13. Even Though Love Can Be A Test

March first had not been one of Hermione's better days.

She, Kurt, and Rachel were all sitting out on the grounds. It was finally warm enough to do so, and Hermione was wondering absentmindedly whether she should deliver Ron the birthday present she had gotten for him. They still hadn't made up and she was really getting annoyed by it. Kurt had a sketchbook he had taken to carrying around with him open, and he was doodling outfits inside of it. Hermione was never one to appreciate fashion too much, but she had to admit, the things Kurt was coming up with were positively stunning. Rachel was finishing reading about the Crutacius curse for Snape. Her head was on Kurt's lap and her feet on Hermione's. It had been the other way around, but Kurt had made her switch because he was taking no chances with her dirty shoes near his crisp, neat sketchbook.

Just as Rachel put her book down, intending to start interrogating Kurt about his romantic life again, Ginny Weasly ran up to them. She was panting and she looked a bit frantic.

"Hermione! Hermione, you have to come with me." she said. Hermione dumped Rachel's feet off of her lap and stood up. "What's gone wrong?" she asked, her voice suddenly a bit higher.

"Something's happened to Ron!" Ginny said, and Hermione's eyes widened.

"Where is he now?"

"The hospital wing!"

They both scurried up the hill and towards the castle, and Hermione seemed just as worried as Ginny. Rachel and Kurt exchanged glances and leaped up, trying to catch up with their friend.

Hermione's mind was buzzing, her heart was pounding in her chest. What had happened to Ron? She hoped he had just fallen off of his broom and broken his arm or something of the like. But she knew that Ginny would never look as worried as she did unless something was really really wrong. Of course, she had been a bit moodier after her break up with Artie, but that was no reason to act this frantic.

Hermione didn't want to believe anything happened to him. She wasn't going to automatically forgive him for everything he had done to upset her, for ignoring her, for mocking her. But what about all the scenes that had happened in her head? She had imagined them talking, slowly, patiently. She imagined them working things out, being happy. She even imagined them hugging once or twice at the end of this fantasy conversation. But now… What if they never had it?

It was stupid to panic. Much worse things had happened at Hogwarts. She had been turned into half a cat and then petrified by a basilisk in the same year, and there she was, perfectly healthy four years later. Ron was tough, he would probably be awake and making jokes in his bed by the time she got up to the hospital wing. This stirred a bitter, false hope inside of her.

She and Ginny darted through corridors until they reached the doors to the hospital wing. Hermione had broken into a full run and launched herself at Harry, demanding to know what had happened. He explained everything, the love potion, Slughorn, the poison. Everything came into Hermione's head in slow motion, and as Harry and Ginny started talking fast, she just stayed quiet. She hated herself for not making up with Ron earlier and she hated Harry and Ginny for looking so avidly interested in each other. It wasn't like they were flirting or being romantic, but the way they spoke was fluid. Their voices sounded good together, she contradicted him and vice versa. It was like they were meant to be talking to each other.

Rachel and Kurt caught up with them, as they had slowed to a walk. Harry recounted the story for them, and though they looked confused and horrified, they weren't as affected as Hermione. After a few minutes, they didn't want to wait anymore. They hugged Hermione and left. She felt stiff.

Time started to pass. They sat outside the doors, and let at the chance to go inside. However, Madam Pomfrey didn't want them in so they couldn't go.

Rachel and Kurt came back about an hour after they left, carrying a cloth full of sandwiches.

"We figured you guys would want some lunch." Kurt said as they sat down on the stone floor next to Harry, Hermione, and Ginny. Ginny and Harry accepted their sandwiches eagerly and dug in. But it took a bit of egging on from Rachel and Harry to get Hermione to start eating.

"Tell me more about Ron. What's he like?" Kurt asked after a while of mild, disinterested conversation about other topics.

"He's a bit of an imbecile." Ginny said with a sad little chuckle.

"He's rather funny." said Harry, smiling reminiscently as though he would never see Ron again.

"He likes attention… I guess. But he doesn't go around begging for it. And he liked to be around friends." Ginny added thoughtfully. Harry looked at her for a bit before saying "He's really good at cheering people up. I mean, sometimes he takes it a little too far, but… Yeah. He's not afraid to tell you you're wrong."

Hermione drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. They all pretended not to have noticed.

"He sounds like a nice guy. I can't wait to meet him." Kurt said. Harry and Ginny glared at him and Rachel elbowed him in the ribs. Kurt looked up at them all as though they were stupid. "What?" he asked. "Ron's obviously a pretty tough guy. And Harry, from what I've heard, you've been dragging him around on adventures since first year. How many times has he helped you defeat You-Know-Who? Like, three, four times? And if you gave him a beozoar, he's going to pull through. Come on, be a little optimistic."

Kurt took another bite of his sandwich, ignoring Ginny's death glare. And while Harry didn't like the way Kurt went about saying it, he was right. Ron could get better, especially if Madam Pomfrey was taking care of him. He became decidedly happier.

"Well, we had better go again." Rachel said once they had all finished eating, standing up and pulling Kurt up with her. But as they were about to leave, three people came marching up to the hospital wing. Draco Malfoy was one of them, and he had his arm protectively around a pretty blonde Slytherin girl, Quinn Fabray. She was looking a bit fragile and he was looking strangely determined. Puck was walking behind them, looking decidedly angry. They all walked towards the hospital wing, not speaking. Harry was curious right away as to what was going on. What was Malfoy doing? Could he have slipped Ron that poison somehow, given it to him through Slughorn? And if that was true, why did he want to go after Ron? Why was that girl with him, and why was Puck there?

They all glared at Malfoy, except for Rachel and Kurt, who waved pleasantly to him.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Harry asked harshly, and Draco looked down at him. His smirk was missing. Pure anger was on his face. He seemed so angry that Harry was merely existing that Harry wasn't sure if they should keep talking. But he was so curious.

"That's none of your business, Potter. I could ask you the same thing." he said coldly. The girl looked up at him, and Puck glared.

"Harry, just let it go." Ginny sighed, placing a hand on Harry's arm. He relaxed, but he looked like a dog ready to attack. Draco sighed and led Quinn into the hospital wing.

"Puck, what's going-" Harry started, but Puck cut him off with an awfully annoyed "Don't talk to me." as he stalked into the hospital wing as well. Quinn had decided that it was time to tell Madam Pomfrey about her baby girl, and it was certainly a hard decision to make. Draco immediately offered to walk her there, and she felt remarkably better when his arm rested comfortably around her shoulders. She felt like she didn't have to wait to lean into him. A little part of her made her think he knew how she felt, but she reminded herself there's no possible way that could be true.

Draco liked that she didn't wait to get close to him. It made him feel like she was relying on him, and despite everything that was happening, despite sneaking into the Room of Requirement to fix that goddamn cabinet every day, despite going to bed every night with lead-heavy guilt resting in his chest, it felt good to be needed. It meant that he meant something, which is what he needed to be reminded of right then.

They encountered Puck in the hallway. There was a brief squabble, but both Quinn and Puck insisted that Puck come, and Draco realized he was in no position to argue. Quinn thought it was only fair Puck come along, because, as Draco realized during this argument, he was the father. Quinn collapsed into him a bit when she saw the realization in his eyes, but he kept his arm around her. He stopped speaking though. Puck had been pestering him since day one of their time at Hogwarts, and he didn't like thinking that Puck's child was growing inside the girl he loved. It was confusing and annoying, especially since he knew he couldn't do anything about it.

"I really want to know what Malfoy's up to…" Harry muttered, and Rachel and Kurt exchanged looks. "You think Draco's up to something?" Kurt asked, sounding just a bit skeptical. However, Rachel considered for a while and said "Well, he has been looking a bit tired lately, and he's always sneaking off during breaks… Kurt, has he been sleeping well lately?"

"Whu-what? Rachel, just because I share a dorm with a boy does not mean I watch him sleep!"

It was obvious that this was a conversation that the two Slytherins had had before, and Harry felt awkward listening to it right away. Hermione, however, who had remained eerily silent, leaned her head down and snorted into her sleeve, and Harry could tell she was grinning. Watching Kurt and Rachel bicker was obviously something she had grown used to. Found amusement in, even. Harry turned to see Ginny's reaction and saw that she, too, was stifling laughter. This continued to make Harry feel even more awkward than he had been before.

A few minutes later and Draco, Quinn and Puck emerged again. Quinn looked a but weak at the knees and Draco was as stony faced as ever. They were still clinging onto each other though. Puck marched out in front of them and speed-walked away, obviously wanting no part of either of them anymore. It was such an unwelcoming, depressing scene to watch, even if you were in the dark like the friends on the floor were, that no one picked on them or interrogated them further. They all watched them walk away in silence, mildly wondering what was going on between them all. Except Harry, whose desire to figure out almost made him get up and follow them. But Ron was more important to him.

Time started to slowly drag by again. Kurt started making different colored birds appear out of his wand, then turned them into confetti or roses that fell to the ground and vanished. Looking at the birds made Hermione recede further into her silence, and no one really knew why or bothered to ask her. She looked upset enough as it was.

Time was positively dragging itself by, teasing them with it's slow manner. If Hermione wasn't so worried, she would have been bored out of her mind. Her extreme worry had faded into a sort of dull-throbbing numbness. Her hands had stopped shaking and she sat slumped against the wall. Harry and Ginny were poking around a dull conversation and Kurt was interjecting his opinions at random intervals, much to Ginny's dismay. Rachel was flipping through Kurt's book of wild yet strangely desirable outfits and critiquing them, which annoyed him to no end.

_If we don't get let in soon, we're all going to start attacking each other, _Hermione thought as Ginny scowled at Kurt and Rachel snorted at the both of them.

Just as Kurt was about to stand up and announce that sorry, but he no longer had any desire to be part of this little gathering anymore, when heavy footsteps could be heard coming towards them. Kurt jumped up when he thought he recognized the two people approaching, and everyone whipped their heads to look at them so fast it almost hurt. They could almost feel the panic radiating from the scene.

Something seemed to fall apart inside Kurt when he saw that it was Dave, looking scared, carrying a limp Santana in his arms. She was unconscious.

"Dave, what is it?" Kurt asked, suddenly just a little lightheaded. Dave didn't bother to answer. He wrenched the door to the hospital wing open and nearly flew inside, not bothering to talk to Kurt.

Strangely, Dave's hurt displayed clearly on his face had flown straight into Kurt and pierced him in the heart. He had only talked to Santana a few times and didn't know why he was suddenly feeling for her and her friend. Silence fell over the little knot of people outside the hospital wing's door and it wasn't long before yelling was heard, and thirty seconds later Dave Karofsky had been booted out next to them. He looked angry and sad and confused as he made to leave, and Kurt rushed over to him.

"I'm going to walk with Dave." he said in that same breathy voice he used when he talked to Blaine. But this time, he wasn't flustered. He was nervous. Harry and Hermione nodded, and Dave looked surprised, but Kurt ushered him away from his friends.

Slow moving conversation picked up again and it was only a few minutes before a horrified looking blond girl with a Hufflepuff tie on came rushing up, burst into the hospital wing, and was similarly kicked out. Madam Pomfrey now had two very seriously sick people to mend at once, she could not afford to have any distractions.

The blonde girl collapsed next to Ginny and sat in a position similar to Hermione's original one, pulling her knees up close to her and sobbing into her arms. There was a lily clutched in one of her hands.

The four friends exchanged thoroughly surprised and concerned looks before Ginny reached out in a rather awkward manner and soothingly rubbed Brittany's arm.

"Tell me what happened."

Kurt and Dave were sitting alone in a corridor leading out onto the grounds, but neither of them had a real desire to go outside. Dave was staring at the wall opposite them. Kurt was staring at Dave. His curiosity and concern was overwhelming his urge to be polite. Dave, however, didn't seem to mind.

"Well… Uh, Santana and I were doing some… Uh, shopping, I guess. And this kid overheard us talking. He's in Slytherin, I guess. He heard us talking about Brittany. The Hufflepuff, do you know her?"

Kurt shook his head.

"Well, the kid started saying a few mean things about her and that made Santana mad. And so before I could do anything they had their wands out and were going all this crazy shit to each other… But then he did something to Santana. I don't know what it was but it knocked her out and he ran away like he just killed her… But he didn't kill her, it just… I dunno. And so I picked her up and ran her to the hospital wing. I tried to stay but… You saw what happened."

Kurt looked up at him, not knowing what to say. His mouth was open though, and serious concern was written all over his face. Something seemed to change inside Dave, and suddenly his face was bright red and he was wiping away tears from his eyes. He was hoping desperately Kurt would decide to turn away so he wouldn't see, but instead his mouth dropped open further and he said "Oh, _Dave…_", which embarrassed Dave more than it really should have and left them both feeling a bit more beat-up than they had been before.

"You don't need to cry… Here, come on, you know she'll be better before you know it. Madam Pomfrey is a good Healer, she'll fix Santana up… Dave, I… I'm so sorry." Kurt stuttered a bit, tripping over his words and not knowing how to make a boy he felt too connected to and had only talked to once feel better about his injured friend.

He thought the situation couldn't get any worse, then realized he could be Dave, then felt awful for even thinking something like that.

"Y-You're really sorry?" Dave asked, still furiously wiping tears from under his eyes. Kurt nodded, and just because he couldn't stand to see Dave do it anymore, grabbed his hand that was wet with tears and gently placed it down at his side. He let go as soon as he could, and something stirred inside Dave, something that looked an awful lot like some strange sort of hope.

Kurt Hummel had never been one to like touching other people. Not even in a dirty way, he was just never fond of being physical. A good hug every once in a while was fine with him, but just holding and touching and being cuddly just was never his thing. He wasn't good at it and he didn't like it. It didn't reassure him like it seemed to do for other people.

But then, staring at the opposite wall, he leaned in head onto Dave's shoulder and wrapped both his thin arms around Dave's thick one. Dave's heart nearly beat out of his chest, and he didn't know whether to cheer or cry.

He cried some more.

He and Kurt sat there together for a long time.

Rachel had left the group. She didn't know Ron well and it was driving her crazy having to sit around and wait for the doors to open. Harry and Ginny's discussion became more and more interesting to the both of them once Rachel was gone. Hermione still wasn't speaking, deep in thought about Ron and why on earth he would have gone and gotten himself poisoned.

Madam Pomfrey opened the doors to them at seven, looking exhausted but pleased with herself. They had barely walked in when Mr. and Mrs. Weasly bustled in as well.

"Just got the owl!" Mrs. Weasly said, out of breath. But she didn't slow down once she was inside, but rushed right to Ron's bed and clasped his hand in hers. "Oh…" she said sadly, looking down at her boy's face and becoming rather choked up. Ginny ran over to hug her father before sitting down on the other side of Ron's bed and sighing. Mr. Weasly just stood over Mrs. Weasly and looked sadly down at his son, unconscious in his bed. Harry sat down and looked at Ron, willing him with all his might to be perfectly ok, just sleeping. Please have him just be sleeping…

Madam Pomfrey was attending to the girl in the bed a few down from them, and Brittany was at her side, clasping Santana's hand in hers and crying once again. The lily was clasped in-between their entwined fingers and she seemed beyond being able to calm herself down. Once Madaom Pomfrey left to go tell the Weasleys about how Ron was doing, Brittany leaned into Santana and whispered "San, why did you get hurt? You're scaring me… I don't like seeing you like this, please wake up. Wake up, San, I got your flower. See? It's right here… Please wake up…"

She kissed Santana's forehead, hoping it would wake her up. She kissed her other cheek, her forehead, her neck, hoping that she would hit a magic spot and Santana would spring up out of her hospital bed. But Santana didn't move, and Brittany's tears rolled down Santana's skin and onto her bedclothes.

Luna was soon there, patting Brittany's back. Then, Kurt and Dave. They were trying to avoid touching each other at all costs, but Kurt stood by him and his friends by Santana's bedside until Dave announced he needed to go, two hours later. They both walked past the family with flaming red hair all huddled around Ron's bed and went to their separate common rooms, not speaking.

Kurt couldn't sleep that night, and he wasn't sure why.


	14. EVen Though Love Can Fall Into Place

Luna had felt a bit off ever sine Santana's accident. She spent a lot of time with Brittany in the hospital wing, Santana was finally darting in and out of consciousness. Madam Pompfrey and the rest of the staff were working hard to figure out what that boy hit her with, but at least she was recovering.

"Do you think she'll get better soon?" Brittany asked as they were leaving the hospital wing one day. She looked worried. She was always worried lately. Her marks were dropping even lower than usual and she moped around. The spring in her step was gone. The twinkle in her eye had vanished. She wasn't Brittany anymore, not without Santana. It was affecting Luna, too. She hated seeing her friend this sad. When people are close like Luna and Brittany, a feeling could flow through one right into the other.

They had been friends since their very first day at Hogwarts together.

Luna was a year younger than Brittany, but they had first met on the Hogwarts train. Santana was going through a brief period where she only wanted to be around other Slytherins to show off, mostly, and make herself feel good about herself. Brittany was left lonely and confused, and the train ride to Hogwarts would have ben miserable if it wasn't for Luna.

_Brittany walked through the train, a basket carrying her big, brown cat called Lord Tubbington swinging feebly from her arm. She felt to small for her clothes, for her trunk, too small to feel. She had been wandering up and down the train, looking into full compartments with dewy eyes and wishing more than she had ever wished for anything in her life that she had a good seat. _

_She walked along and found an oddly empty compartment. There was only one girl inside, and she was looking out the window. Brittany could tell she was a rather harmless first year, but the real reason she went in to sit with Luna Lovegood that say was because she liked her hair. She was hoping, if she played her cards right, that she would get to touch it or even braid it by the end of the train ride. _

_She slid open the compartment door and Luna's head turned a bit slowly to look at Brittany. Lord Tubbington gave a wail from his basket._

_"Can I sit here?" Brittany asked, pointing directly at the spot in which she intended to sit. She was going to sit there either way, but she thought it would be polite to ask. Luna nodded. _

_"I'm Brittany. And this is Lord Tubbington." she said, pointing to the basket. Tubbington poked his head out and let out a low meow before wriggling out of the basket and flopping over next to Brittany. _

_"I'm Luna Lovegood." Luna said. Brittany took her hand and shook it enthusiastically, and though Luna wasn't expecting it, she wasn't fazed at all. She just turned to look out the window again. _

_"Are you in your first year?" Brittany asked. Luna nodded at the window. Brittany took a moment before saying "Are you nervous about the Sorting?"_

_Luna paused. She waited. Brittany cleared her throat a few times before Luna answered. Another nod. Brittany reached out and put her hand on Luna's knee. Luna's big eyes focused on that instead of the countryside speeding by. _

_"It's fun, getting Sorted." Brittany said. "The Sorting Hat sings to you and talks in your ear. He goes right through your head and speaks to you and-"_

_"You're very strange." Luna said, cutting across Brittany. Brittany tilted her head, but didn't look offended. _

_"Well, so are you." Brittany said with only a moment's hesitation. _

_Something connected inside the two girls then, both of them fully recognizing that they came off to the rest of the world as strange made them equals. Their age and hight and family no longer mattered. Brittany was odd. Luna was odd. They could be odd together until the end of time if they wanted to._

_And though neither of them realized what had actually happened in that glorious moment, they knew they had found a friend in each other. _

"I want San to get better." Brittany mumbled as they walked together. Luna nodded, taking Brittany's hand. Brittany sighed. It was a gesture they had both grown accustomed to.

"So do I." Luna said. Brittany looked at her with a mildly confused expression.

"You two don't seem close." Brittany said, keeping her eyes locked on Luna.

"Yes," Luna said, "but we've talked, and deep down, she's a very stunning person. She lies a lot, but she's good. Someone like her doesn't deserve what she got."

Brittany nodded weakly.

Just then, Artie rolled up to them. He had been chanting in his head all day, through breakfast, through classes. _Today is the day, ask Luna out. _He knew about Santana, word had spread around the school quickly. But it was now or never. Santana or no Santana, he had to power through his own fear and ask her out.

But God, it was hard to talk to her when she was looking at you with those eyes.

This big, beautiful eyes…

Artie cleared his throat to clear his mind, although there still seemed to be a thin layer of fuzz on everything there. Brittany just kept walking, as if Artie had never even showed up. Artie knew how that was. After breaking up with Ginny, he couldn't stop moving. He was always doing something with his hands, his wheels, going somewhere, keeping busy, so he wouldn't feel bad or doubt himself. He suspected it must have been ten times worse with her. Luna looked down at him with a vague smile though.

"Hello, Artie. I've missed talking to you for the past few days." Luna said. Artie thought her happiness spreading over her face looked like pure sunshine. He couldn't hate himself for being cheesy though, because rather than thinking in sentences he just thought with clouds of emotion he could translate into words if he so desired. And those clouds just broke to make way for Luna's dazzling smile.

"So have I. Luna, you like music, right?" Artie said. Luna nodded. "Oh yes, it's all very good. I especially like Muggle music. They seem to write a lot of songs about love."

"Well Luna, that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about." Artie said, sounding far, far more confident than he was feeling. "Want to come down to the grounds with me?"

"Of course." she said, and she reached out and took his hand. Even though it meant Artie had a bit of a difficult time maneuvering himself, he didn't care. Fireworks were exploding inside his chest. Not big ones, certainly. But they were there, budding like flowers. Luna helped push him out until they were under the beech tree on the grounds, overlooking the glassy, pristine lake. People were laughing and having fun everywhere. Artie couldn't have asked for better conditions.

Once he hand Luna had settled themselves, he started to sing. He had always liked the song, speaking of an intriguing, lovely, odd-yet-joyful girl. Now there she was, right in front of him. And he was ready to show her how he felt.

He cleared his throat and she gave him a look she had never given him before. She looked alert, happy. Luna was excited. That was all the inspiration Artie needed.

_"Now that she's back in the atmosphere with drops of Jupiter in her hair_

_She acts like summer and walks like rain, reminds me that there's a time to change, yeah…"_

Luna was leaning in. Just slightly, just a bit. Like she was trying to get as close as she could to the music without Artie noticing.

_"Since the return of her stay on the moon, she listens like spring and she talks like June, yeah… Yeah… Now tell me, did you sail across the sun? Did you make it to the milky way to see the lights are faded, and that heaven is overrated? Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star, one without a permanent scar, and did you miss me while you were lookin' for yourself out there?" _

She had closed her eyes, she was swaying a bit. Artie began to get nervous. This couldn't go too well, things had to set into motion, his voice had to crack at least… When things went too perfectly, it made him anxious. But he kept going. There was no way he was going to just stop in the middle of a song that made her look so… Pleased. That's what he was reminded of. A content cat, laying on it's belly in the sun.

_"Now that she's back from that soul vacation, _

_tracing her way through the constellations, yeah…"_

They were starting to get a bit of attention. It wasn't every day that people in Hogwarts just burst out singing. Luna didn't seem to mind though. She was off in her own little world, one filled with Artie's singing.

_"She checks out Mozart while she does tae bo, reminds me that there's room to grow, yeah… Now that she's back in the atmosphere_

_I'm afraid that she might think of me as plain ol Jane_

_Told a story about a man who is too afraid to fly so he never did land…"_

A few people were gathering around, noticing. Two blonde Slytherins, a boy and a girl, came to watch. The girl had her hand resting on her stomach. She was smiling widely. Dave and Brittany walked over, Dave had his arm around Brittany's skinny form. They were both smiling wider than Luna had seen in days. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were watching, grinning at Luna. Another pair of Slytherins, brunettes this time, were doing an over-exaggerated formal dance and laughing at themselves. The boys voice seemed to be as high as his friends. Sam Evans walked over with his girlfriend Mercedes Jones, his arm around her shoulders, and stole a kiss from her. But Artie tried with all his might to only focus on Luna.

_"Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet, did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day, and head back to the milky way_

_And tell me, did Venus blow your mind, was it everything you wanted to find_

_And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?"_

Luna was clapping along to the music now, she had dropped to her knees so she was just a bit shorter than Artie in his chair. Artie was grinning down at her, now past the point of worrying and finally thinking that what he was doing might work out. He spent a long time contemplating how to ask out a girl like Luna Lovegood, and music presented itself as a solution.

He still couldn't believe he just might pull everything off.

_"Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken_

_Your best friend always sticking up for you... even when I know you're wrong_

_Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance five-hour phone conversation_

_The best soy latte that you ever had... And me…"_

The small crowd they had attracted grew still then. Everyone was waiting, still, for the end of the song and what Luna's reaction would be. It was a moment where everything was tense, yet mysteriously relaxed. Calm, yet feverishly excited. It was peace of mind filled with an incessant buzzing. It was romance, and everyone watching Artie and Luna had their own stories to tell. Their hearts went out to the two people in the center of their circle, and they were attracted like magnets.

_"Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet_

_Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day_

_And head back toward the milky way_

_Tell me did you sail across the sun_

_Did you make it to the milky way to see the lights all faded_

_And that heaven is overrated"_

Luna looked over Artie's shoulder at Dave and Brittany, looking so happy for her. She had never wanted anyone's approval over anything, not because she thought lesser of anyone else, but because she was capable enough to do things on her own. But Dave and Brittany mattered. They were big parts of her. Their friendship had consumed her heart and she couldn't just let anyone into that space she had willingly given to them. Artie's serenade was something special, and it was clear they saw that. But they needed to show her it wasn't a bad decision.

Dave gave her a two thumbs up. Brittany giggled. It was final.

_"Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star_

_One without a permanent scar_

_And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?"_

As Artie drew out his long, final note, everyone cheered. Artie smiled at her and looked at her extremely expectantly.

"Luna, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked. The mini-crowd cheered again. His voice shook slightly and he was twiddling his thumbs. Luna didn't know why he was so nervous, but she sure thought it was cute. There had always been something about Artie Abrams, something small, something captivating. Charisma or something of the like. But it had pulled Luna in from the night she found him wheeling off to the hospital wing and it grew inside her. It was like vines, tangling themselves around her heart. Wrapping it up. Squeezing it.

She walked over to him on her knees still, effectively staining her robes against the bright green grass, and she threw her arms around Artie's middle. Artie, in surprise, wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"I'll be your girlfriend." Luna whispered, her cheek pressed up against his belly.

Artie's stomach did backflips.

Dave was steadily growing happier. Santana was now conscious the majority of the time they visited her in the hospital wing, and she was well on her way to making sarcastic remarks again. Brittany was happy now that Santana was recovering, and Artie was making Luna happier than Dave had ever seen her. He felt a bit bad that she never looked that extremely content when she was just around them, but better late than never.

He was seeing a lot more of Kurt lately too. Kurt ha no apparent feelings for Dave other than mutual respect, that was for certain. And they weren't exactly meeting up outside of classes. But he walked with Dave sometimes, stood next to him during their still immensely frustrating apparation lessons. He even turned up to watch Ravenclaw quidditch practice once or twice, but left before Dave could talk to him.

Dave was strolling through the corridors, in no particular hurry to get to his next class. He was having one of those days where everything felt just fine and nothing really mattered. Flitwick wouldn't kill him if he was just three minutes late, would he? It didn't seem like it.

He was mildly pondering life, looking up at the high, arched ceilings when he ran into a boy that looked as though he was in a rather big hurry. He was nowhere near as tall as Dave, and nearly bounced off of him as they collided. Something rather big he was carrying crashed to the floor, and Dave snapped out of his daze right away.

"Shit." the boy murmured, staring at the broken guitar on the floor.

"Here, let me get that for you." Dave said, getting out his wand, pointing it at the not entirely broken but now slightly banged up instrument and said "Reparo."

"Thanks." the other boy said gratefully, pulling out a smile so bright that made the sun look dim. Dave thought that it was rather unnecessary, seeing as it was just a guitar, but he was running to wherever he was going to.

"No problem." Dave said with a little nod. "I'm Dave."

"Blaine." the other boy said. They shook hands.

"Where are you carting that thing off to, anyways?" Dave asked conversationally. Blaine looked a bit flustered at this question, as though a little part of him wasn't exactly sure either.

"Do you know Kurt Hummel?" he asked.

"Yes." Dave responded, just a little too quickly. Blaine didn't seem to pick up on it though.

"Well… I've kind of been sitting with him in potions for a while and rumor is he can sing. I'm gonna try and convince him to sing with me." he said. Maybe Dave was just being paranoid, but it sure sounded as though Blaine's voice had dropped a bit lower, and he sounded too enthusiastic about just a song. Dave's eyes narrowed a bit, but it seemed as though there was an invisible bubble around Blaine that negative thoughts couldn't penetrate.

"Uh, yeah, well have to go." Blaine said, firmly picking up his guitar and nodding to Dave before hurrying off.

Dave stared after him for a bit, not really comprehending what had happened.

Who _was _that kid?


	15. Even Though Love Won't Be Realized

Potions lessons came and gone. While Blaine usually drifted through them without particularly strong emotion concerning them, now things were becoming a lot more interesting.

He didn't have romantic feelings for Kurt Hummel. Not yet. But he did have a burning curiosity about him. It was apparent he had many different sides to himself, layers all the way down to his core. He was a deep person. He was fierce. Blaine wanted to know exactly what was going on in his head. Whenever he had those thoughts, he felt more than a bit creepy. But he could hardly help it. There was some sort of natural pull between him and Kurt, and he felt it every day. It was becoming a bit more apparent Kurt was feeling it, too. That was far more pleasing to Blaine than it should have been. It was an odd satisfaction.

He had started to visit Kurt outside potions. He walked him to classes, and whenever he turned up, Rachel mysteriously disappeared and left them alone.

They had a wide array of things to talk about. They were both very interested in Muggle books and music, and Kurt had a particularly strong love for the pop singer Lady Gaga, who Blaine had rarely heard. But he let him talk about her anyways.

They both also noticed that they had very prominent differences. While Kurt said exactly what was on his mind, Blaine was a bit more reserved. Kurt wanted affection, Blaine was happily independent. Kurt didn't care if he made people angry if he made a point, Blaine liked tranquility. They were yin and yang, but more connected. Interwoven. More like two bugs tangled up in the same spiderweb.

Blaine also saw Kurt relax more and more every day. Instead of styling his hair in a jerky sort of way, he tok out his sketchbook. Let Blaine look inside. He stopped holding his shoulders stiff, he let them relax, and his warm, light laughter soon followed suit.

They had the same sense of humor, and Kurt would never be able to deny there was an amazing comfort in Blaine's soft, low laugh. Something special, something safe. It was like a secret they both shared.

Slowly, Kurt became a little more free with his voice. Blaine had always felt free to sing around Kurt, and he had, leaving Kurt looking thoroughly flustered and amused. But Kurt only let out the occasional snippet of a French song, little clumps of humming that congealed in the air and fell flat to the floor. He wasn't going to expose himself like that. Blaine wanted him to, though.

But Blaine and Kurt still weren't spending all the time in the world together. They weren't too close. They didn't make an extravagant effort to be around each other.

Blaine was ready to start making that effort.

He woke up one Saturday morning with an amazing feeling. He was in one of those "I can accomplish anything" moods, where one feels they're completely capable of doing anything, like doing backflips off walls or ridding the world of evil. Either way, he felt marvelous. Ready to take on the day. Ace every class.

Which led him right to the idea of Kurt. Something slid into place inside Blaine's thoughts, and he assumed if he was feeling so lucky, today was the day to charm Kurt into singing for him. He knew exactly how to do it, too.

But he was missing once crucial tool, and he needed someone's help to get it.

"Tomorrow is gonna suck." Puck said at the breakfast table, poking at his scrambled eggs in an unnecessarily angry way. They had Quidditch the next day, and Cormac McLaggen was filling in for Ron, who was still in the hospital wing. Blaine shrugged, and he got death glares form about three different boys from around the table. Personally, he thought people cared about Quidditch too much.

Ginny Weasley, on the other side of Puck, sighed. "I know. We're hopeless with him. Why did Ron have to go and get poisoned?"

Hermione buried her nose unnecessarily far into her book, looking annoyed, and Harry said "He didn't do it on purpose! You're right though, Ginny. The faster Ron gets well, the better…"

Blaine's romanic feeling for Harry were almost nonexistent, but that didn't mean he didn't feel a little ache in his chest when he saw the boy looking so disheartened.

"Why does that guy have to fill in? I bet there's like, forty good players sitting around us and we have him." Puck said. He had been in an almost constant state of anger since that day he had walked into the hospital wing with Draco and Quinn. He wasn't furious, but he could be anywhere from annoyed to angry at any given time, along with his other emotions.

Harry sighed, preparing a good answer, when Sam Evans squeezed in between Ginny and Puck.

"Hey guys." he said, grabbing a plate of toast. Inspiration seized Harry and he stared at Sam happily.

"Uh… Sup?" Sam asked, seeing Harry's stare.

"Sam, you play quidditch, don't you?" Harry asked. Sam looked rather confused.

"A little… I mean, I'm a pretty good flyer, but…"

"Do you think you could play keeper for Gryffindor tomorrow?" Harry asked desperately. Ginny giggled into her plate of bacon. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"It's a bit late for that, don't you think, Harry?" Hermione asked skeptically. Sam was just sitting there with his mouth slightly open, which made Puck start to laugh a bit. Harry sighed and looked down at his plate.

"Yeah, sorry Sam. That was really weird…" Harry mumbled, and Sam grinned.

"Naw, it's fine, man." Sam said.

Breakfast passed, half of the Gryffindor table was gloomy about quidditch and the other half was just trying to ready themselves for the day ahead. Sam pulled Blaine aside as everyone was getting up to leave and said "Hey so, like… You're gay, right?"

Blaine sighed. He hadn't really ever considered the fact that the entire school didn't already know. He just assumed Sam was aware because he was around most of the time, but it was true that he was kind of ignoring the Gryffindor boys in favor of his new Ravenclaw friends. No wonder he was out of the loop.

"I'm gay." Blaine said, pursing his lips in a way that made it look almost like he was judging Sam for having to ask. The look seemed to escape Sam though, and he plowed right on.

"Well yeah. Cause I've seen you flirting with Kurt Hummel and stuff, and Mercedes hung out with him a bit when they were younger, so I just wanted to say that if you like, ever wanted help hooking up with him or something I could talk to her about it."

Blaine was touched by Sam's effort to help him, but couldn't help himself from saying "Thank you, Sam… But if you don't mind me asking, why do you care about… Kurt's and my relationship?"

"Well, we've been hanging out at school since we were kids, and even though I've kind of been hanging with other people lately I really still like you guys and stuff, and when I met Mercedes it took me forever to even get the courage to talk to her. So I know what it's like to be all nervous about romance. So if you were ever feeling like that, I was just kind of figuring we could help you."

Blaine was suddenly overwhelmed with appreciation for people like Sam Evans.

"Why don't you introduce me to Mercedes? She sounds nice." Blaine said. Sam seemed very willing.

"Sure! She's coming over here now, we were going to walk to Charms together… Just a warning, she can be kind of a diva, so… Hey babe!" he turned to Mercedes as she walked up, and he held out his arm and she slid her shoulders under it, they fit together like puzzle pieces.

Blaine thought she was fairly pretty, despite her weight. Actually, when he tried, he couldn't picture a skinny Mercedes. It only took about two seconds to realize she completely owned herself.

"Mercedes, this is Blaine. Blaine, this is Mercedes." Sam said, and Blaine reached out and shook her hand. They both smiled politely at each other.

"It's good to meet you!" Blaine said jovially, and Mercedes grinned.

"And you. Sam's been telling me about you and Kurt." she said, apparently stifling giggles. Sam gave Blaine an apologetic look as they started to walk out of the Great Hall together.

"You know, you shouldn't just assume things like that about people's relationships." Blaine said to Sam, relaxed and lightly joking. He meant it, though. Mercedes rolled her eyes. "It's true though, right?" she said, and she didn't have to hear what Blaine said next to know the answer.

"Well yes, but-"

"So you, like, like him?" Sam asked.

"Jeez! Are you guys like, stalking me or something?" Blaine asked, and Sam and Mercedes laughed.

"No way!" she said. "It's just no often that a Gryffindor and a Slytherin date. Aside from Hudson and Berry. And much less two guys." she said. Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Not like I have any problem or anything with it, you know. It's just not regular here. But please, you should have the sense to know none of us are going to act like Muggles about this. No one cares about gay people. Except like, some dumb Slytherins. But what are they gonna do?" Mercedes said with a shrug, and Blaine shrugged as well. He liked Mercedes already.

"Actually, I was kind of thinking… I was planning on talking to Kurt today during break. Well, more like singing. Can ask you two for a favor?"

Blaine had known how to play the guitar since he was ten. He knew he would never have a career involving music, but that didn't stop him from loving it or being good at it. But once he want to Hogwarts, he left his guitar at home with much persuading from him mother. He wouldn't need it there, and they had so much homework in sixth year he would have no time to use it just then.

But he needed an acoustic guitar for what he was planning to do that afternoon, and he knew one person that he could rely on to get him what he wanted.

However, asking Professor McGonigal to do anything outside grading homework was somewhat nerve-wracking, so as his Transfiguration lesson ended and Blaine pulled out a spare quill, his heart was beating a bit faster than usual. As everyone was filing out, he walked to the front and smiled, trying to be as charming as humanly possible.

"Yes, Anderson?" McGonigal asked as he approached her desk, not looking up form the papers she was grading.

"I was wondering if I could get your help with something?" Blaine asked, and McGonigal looked up.

"That depends on what it is." she said, looking him up and down to try and get a clue what he was about to try and make her do. He held out the cheap, spare quill in his hand.

"Can you please turn this into a guitar for me?" he asked, smiling at her. She wasn't persuaded by his cheeriness, and stared at him skeptically for a good ten seconds before she took the feather and transformed it into an acoustic guitar. Blaine was glad she understood exactly what he wanted on the first try, he would have felt as though he was overstepping some boundary if he asked her to do it over again.

"May I ask what you're going to use it for?" she asked, and Blaine was in no position to just ignore the question. "I was just going to play with some… friends. We wanted to…"

McGonigal rolled her eyes, making it very apparent she knew Blaine wasn't telling the whole truth.

"Don't be too loud." she said, returning to her work.

So Blaine hurried out of the Transfiguration classroom. Hopefully everything had gone well with Sam and Mercedes. He had asked them to take Kurt out in a little spot by the lake, usually uninhabited. It was near a pretty steep downhill slant, so people didn't like to go down there. It made getting up and back down to go to classes tedious, but Blaine didn't care. Not today.

He knew Kurt wouldn't like being dragged down to a little, abandoned spot, either. But that didn't matter. Blaine didn't want to sound self-centered or anything of the sort, he just very plainly thought that he and Kurt would benefit very much from this experience. Mostly him, but it should work out for both of them. Maybe Kurt would open up to him even more. Maybe they could develop feelings for each other. Maybe they could date…

But just then, he ran into something very solid and dropped his guitar.

His encounter with Dave Karofsky was brief, surely, but something inside him stirred with recognition. Dave didn't seem to be very fond of him by the end of their two minutes together, but Blaine didn't have time to worry about any of that just then. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he knew Dave from somewhere. His name was just too familiar…

A few more wide steps down the hallway and he had remembered. Dave Karofsky was a name Kurt Hummel used fondly in conversation, particularly one day that Blaine had cast back into his mind, because he didn't want to think about it.

Kurt used Dave's name with a tender awe, a hopeless longing to know things that were beyond both his and Blaine's reach. He used Dave's name like a little child talking about Santa Claus, staying up by the Christmas tree on the night of December 24th but falling asleep just in time to miss the big man.

Blaine didn't like it, and he didn't want to remember it. That's why it took so long to recover his memory of the name, he tried to cast it away.

There were fireworks in his eyes when he said Blaine's name, but fireworks only lasted so long. Hope, slow and burning, lasted forever, and Blaine was almost afraid of that. He was determined to show Kurt what he could bring him as well.

He hated feeling jealous of something he couldn't call his own.

His pace tripled in speed as he rushed down to meet Kurt.

Blaine could see the faint outlines of their bodies as he hurried down to meet them, holding tightly onto his guitar. He nearly fell down the hill a couple of times, making Kurt's sour expression turn into silent laughter. Blaine wasn't quite sure how he felt about that, but he was proud of himself for making Kurt laugh.

"Hey." he said breathlessly as he finally reached them. Sam and Mercedes smiled widely.

"Can I ask you why these two pulled me down this hill? I know this is your fault, Blaine." Kurt said, crossing his arms and trying to look as angry as he was before watching Blaine trip over himself down the hill.

When Blaine didn't answer right away, Sam asked "You guys want us to go?"

Kurt said "You can stay." and Blaine said "Yes please." at the exact same time. The resulting stare-off was so intense that Sam and Mercedes waved hastily and started their brief trek up the hill anyways.

"Tell me why I'm down here, Blaine." said Kurt, a bit more kindly since no one was there to expect him to be mean. "Why do you have a guitar?"

"Because… I want to ask you to do something… For me." Blaine said, not sure exactly what he was doing. Kurt's eyes grew a bit wide.

"I know you can sing. And singing means a lot. No one wants to sing in front of anyone else, because everyone's afraid no one will like it. So for me, singing in front of someone has always been the same as trusting someone, because you trust them to know what your voice sounds like…

"And I want to hear your voice, Kurt, because I've shown you mine."

"Blaine, this is weird, why are we down here, we hardly know each other, we're hardly friends…"

"You're my best friend."

Those words flowed from Blaine's mouth without hesitation, and unlike so many other times in his life, he didn't regret saying them. They shocked Kurt into silence.

Blaine had nothing left to do but sit down on the untrimmed grass and start to play his guitar. He knew Kurt knew the song, and suddenly every move he made seemed a lot more stupid. But if that was true, now he had nothing to loose.

_"Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, and everything you do, yeah they were all yellow…"_

Kurt looked touched and scared and confused and intimidated and so very eager.

_"I came along, I wrote a song for you… And all the things you do, and it was called yellow…"_

Kurt finally took a deep breath. Blaine was acting so weird, like he was _interested _in Kurt. As if he liked Kurt! Blaine, with his dreamy eyes… It was just not possible. Even if Blaine hadn't spun their potions partnership into an awkwardly developing friendship, it would have been strange to imagine loving him. He was so

perfect, but he had written up a play of their time together, and cast himself as the best friend, the supportive one, the one stands off to the side and lets the stars do their thing.

But don't he and the star always end up together?

Kurt sang, venting.

_"So then I took my turn, oh all the things I've done… And it was all yellow."_

Blaine looked happily astonished at Kurt's voice, high and ringing beautifully. It was surreal to hear him sing. They boy had talent. Their voices melted together, clashing perfectly.

_"Your skin, oh yeah your skin and bones… Turn into something beautiful_

_D'you know you know I love you so..._

_You know I love you so."_

Kurt whispered "I love you so" like it was a secret. Blaine nearly shouted it, his warm voice taking over Kurt's. But then, Blaine's voice slowed to a stop and Kurt sang alone again.

_"I swam across, I jumped across for you _

_Oh all the things you do… Cause you were all yellow._

_I drew a line, I drew a line for you _

_Oh what a thing to do..._

_And it was all yellow."_

Blaine smiled encouragingly at him, his hands working at the guitar. Kurt stood over him, and Blaine could see just a slight tremble in his knees. But he wouldn't make Kurt stop, he wanted to rest of the song. He joined in with Kurt again, their voices reached out for each other expectantly.

_"Your skin, oh yeah your skin and bones… Turn into something beautiful,_

_D'you know for you i bleed myself dry _

_For you I bleed myself dry."_

Blaine looked up at Kurt, his eyes wide. He was seeing something inside Kurt he had never seen before. Passion, and overwhelming amounts of it at that.

That was it, he was going to ask Kurt out. After the song, he would ask Kurt to be his boyfriend.

_"Its true look how they shine for you…"_

Their eyes met, and Blaine saw that Kurt was still just plain old Kurt. His momentary delusions wore off and he mentally cursed himself for even considering asking Kurt out. That was a dumb idea. They really needed to spend more time with each other, Blaine was getting carried away with himself.

_"…look how they shine for you…"_

Kurt sighed. Why did all his guy friends have to be so handsome? He hated how quickly he fell for people, he was silently begging anything that could possibly be listening to have him ply concentrate on Dave when it came to crushes. No Blaine, no Blaine at all. Blaine was just a friend, and Kurt liked Dave.

Finally, he admitted it to himself.

He liked Dave, and there was no room for Blaine there, in _that _part of his mind. No matter how much easier that would be for both of them. No matter how Blaine was looking at him… No matter how well he could play the guitar or tell joked or be so handsome…

Damn.

_"…look how they shine for you…"_

Their eyes locked and neither could tell what the other one was thinking.

_"…look how they shine for you…"_

Kurt moved to sit down next to Blaine.

_"…look how they shine for you…"_

Kurt liked the way their voices sounded together.

_"Look how they shine, look at the stars, look how they shine for you…"_

The song ended, and they just shared a glance and laughed at themselves for letting a song trick them into thinking their relationship was more than it could be. They were soon breathless with silent laughter at their own hormonal stupidity, and Kurt leaned against Blaine, easing himself onto him.

Butterflies were in both of their stomachs, but they were embraced. They had sang together, and that meant they cared about each other.

There was enough caring there that they both knew that they had time, time to work out their jumbled mess of sloppy, too early feelings for each other and, for Kurt, Dave.

"You're a really talented singer, Kurt. I never knew." Blaine said honestly, looking down at Kurt's head on his shoulder. Kurt's big, blue eyes drifted lazily up to meet Blaine's.

"Well, you know I don't sing much. But I do have to question your song choice. Wasn't that a tad romantic, Mr. Anderson?"

Blaine chuckled. "I know. But on short notice, it was the best one I could find. And except for the 'I love you' parts, everything worked out, didn't it?"

"Hey! Are you criticizing my singing or your poor song-choosing skills?"

They both laughed again, and the bell rang to signal that they should be moving toward their class. Both of them sighed, picked up their belongings, and started up the hill.


	16. Even Though Love Feels Like A Distractio

Draco was walking off again, escaping the overwhelming heat of bodies and excitement coming from the quidditch pitch. If there was ever a time to work on the cabinet, it was now tat everyone was distracted. He was leading an unwilling Crabbe and Goyle along with him, both disguised as young girls.

He felt guilty, all the time. Every single day, guilt attacked his heart, ate away at it until he felt empty, and it was Quinn's fault. He was helping her, supporting her, coaching through her pregnancy though he had no experience whatsoever. He loved the mother but despised the child's genes. He had no idea if Quinn would become very serious and he would be landed with a kid, _Noah Puckerman's kid, _and the new, soul-crushing duties that belonged to Death Eaters. Too much was too much, but he would pick unplanned fatherhood over being a Death Eater any day. But would he feel like that in the future? What was he going to think in five years, raising a kid that wasn't his in any way?

But what really got him was his secrets. Quinn had been perfect, full of her beautiful, personal brand of pride, opening up to him and letting him see her for what she was. While that person was far from kind and gentle, it was her, and he was grateful that he had her.

But he had so many secrets. He was hiding the mark on his arm, covering it up, trying to blindly wish it away so Quinn wouldn't see. He prayed she wouldn't notice him sneaking away, stealing chunks of precious time to work on mending the battered and broken old vanishing cabinet to bring his aunt Bellatrix, among others, into the castle. He wished harder than he had ever wished for anything that Quinn wouldn't suspect him of plotting to kill the Headmaster. How hard he was slaving, how he was breaking his back, how he was taking his own life and strangling it just to get rid of someone else's.

He was so _angry. _He wanted to break things. He wanted to see people hurt. He wanted to know what he was doing was benefiting _someone. _Someone needed to be as hurt as he was, and he would just sit there and recoil, further and further into himself, pumping hate through his body like poison. He hated things, he wanted to watch things waste away.

How was he supposed to help bring a new life into this world if he could barely manage his own?

Aside from a brief run in with Harry Potter, in which vicious words were drawled in a blind release of emotion, everything about escaping the quidditch game went smoothly. He hurried up to the castle, flanked by two angry looking little girls.

Artie was rolling up to the commentator's tower with Luna, holding her small hand in his. Luna had told him about how excited she was about being able to commentate on the match, and he thought her enthusiasm was adorable.

"Can I ask you something?" Luna asked serenely as they reached the beginning of the stairs that, of course, Artie didn't feel like going up.

"Of course!" he said, smiling up at her. She gave him a little smile, but still looked rather serious.

"Do you ever miss Ginny Weasley?" Luna asked.

Artie, as usual, got the distinct impression that Luna wasn't judging him at all. But the question still made him very nervous. He had been thinking about Ginny lately. Not quite missing her, but thinking about all the things they could have had. She was fierce, admirable, so courageous. He loved the smell of her shampoo and the way she laughed.

He was happier with Luna, of course. He could never take his mind off her! Through the last chapter of his and Ginny's relationship, Luna was his guiding star. His prize. She was worth everything that happened.

Wasn't she?

What would he get if he lied? Said he hadn't been thinking about her at all? When would that lie catch up to him, slowly consuming him? How did Luna deal with the stress of a relationship?

Artie really didn't know.

"I… I can't lie to you, Luna. Lately, I've been a little, you know… Well, you don't really, but I- What I'm trying to say is…"

"It's fine, Artie. I understand." Luna said, unsmiling. But Artie wasn't completely sure she did. How could she comprehend his conflict? His annoyance, his fear? She had never been in his shoes. He sighed.

"I'm looking forward to your commentary." he muttered, looking down at his feet and blushing. He hated wanting two people at once, it's like his heart was never satisfied.

"I am too, I think it's going to be rather fun. But I'm a bit nervous now…"

Artie felt relieved at this change in the conversation, but his heart sank again just as quickly.

"But you still like Ginny. I can tell, it's the way you look at her. It's kind of like she's meat and you're a tiger… But in a much nicer way, of course." Luna said, looking as serene as ever but not meeting his eyes. Artie swallowed, a lump was rising in ˙is throat.

"I know. Guilty as charged." he muttered, still looking at his shiny black shoes.

"If you want to break up with me and go back to her, it's ok, I suppose." Luna said, her voice growing ever quieter.

"No! No no no, of course I don't! I love you, Luna!" he said, almost forcibly, and she brightened up right away. He was half pleased and half terrified at what he had said. Yes, he felt like he loved her. But saying you love someone is a promise, and it was one he wasn't sure he would be able to keep. But she was radiant, how on earth could he give that up?

"I love you too, Artie." she said perfectly casually. Her cheeks were a shade darker than usual.

Professor McGonigal rushed down the stairs of the commentator's tower, her eyes moving onto them desperately.

"Lovegood! The match is about to start! Come up here immediately!" she said, her breath heavy. Luna smiled at Artie, and Artie gave her a weak smile back.

"Have a good time." he mumbled as she kissed his forehead, and he wheeled away feeling awful.

The match had started, Luna's airy voice was drifting across the stadium, and the Gryffindor team was a mess. Brittany knew they had this game in the bag before it even began. She was a chaser for the Hufflepuff team, and if there was one thing she was smart at, it was athletics. She was perfectly fit and a superb flyer. She could catch a quaffle and be off towards the goal posts before anyone in the stands could bat an eyelash. The Gryffindor keeper's substitute seemed to be bringing the team down tremendous amounts, while their team was far above their usual standard.

Without Santana constantly in her life, Brittany was dedicating all her time away from Dave, Luna, and Artie to quidditch. Her enthusiasm had inspired the whole team, as it usually did, and they were doing great.

Cadwallader had the quaffle and was flying away, Brittany zoomed up next to him. Luna and McGonigal made the entire crowd laugh when Luna messed up his name. Brittany would have giggled if she wasn't so zoned in to what was going on.

The Gryffindor keeper was too busy yelling at Ginny Weasley, which gave Cadwallader an opportunity to score. Brittany fist pumped the air and the crowd cheered. Some rather unwillingly, but it was still a good cheer for Hufflepuff.

Harry Potter began shouting at his keeper and they began a row, which Luna picked up on and pointed it out to everyone, and Brittany looked over at them staring furiously at each other. She remembered what she was supposed to be doing, however, and zoomed off.

As Luna's voice drifted over her, calming her down a bit, Brittany managed to snatch the quaffle from Ginny Weasley herself and score, twice. But Luna wasn't actually paying attention to the match, and that left the crowd to decipher what was going on themselves. It made it rather hard for everyone, and Brittany felt she wasn't getting the attention she deserved as the Hufflepuff star player. She was determined to win more than anything as the crowd squinted and pointed moves out to each other.

The Gryffindors were an absolute mess, and Brittany felt a surge of pride for her own house when McGonigal grabbed Luna's microphone and announced the score was seventy-forty to the Hufflepuffs.

However, the game stopped for a good few seconds when Luna pointed out that the Gryffindor keeper had a beaters bat and was trying to tell his teammates how to use it properly. In the middle of the game. Brittany almost laughed. Even she knew that it was completely unprofessional and unconvinent and unnecessary.

A laugh almost escaped her lips, but she choked on in when she saw Harry Potter get hit in the face with that very same bat, and slide of his broom and drop towards the ground.

Rachel and Kurt were sitting together in the Slytherin common room that night, doing massive amounts of homework and being strangely more full than usual from dinner. Rachel had been meaning to ask Kurt something that she had noticed lately. She had been seeking an opportunity to talk to Finn, to try and apologize about the whole love potion fiasco. She had little snippets of conversation with him, brief exchanges, "so how about this weather?" type of things that were annoying and wholly unsatisfying. But he always hurried away, had a class to get to, or quidditch practice or friends to hang out with. It had been weeks, whole weeks, since it had happened and he was behaving like a child about it.

But when seeking Finn, trying to coax him out of the shell he was obviously hiding in, she noticed Kurt with both Blaine and Dave. Now, she knew that a gay boy could have more than two guy friends, she wasn't an ignorant fool like many of the other people in her house, but there was something different about Kurt's situation. Dave and Blaine both looked at him so lovingly, and Kurt seemed to be returning both of their affections. Rachel had no proof that they were doing anything but looking at each other funny, but it was still odd. Kurt had been hiding from people for the last six years of his life until Rachel brought herself, Hermione, and these two boys into his life. Now, seemingly because of the latter, he was a lot more cheerful. Rachel wanted to know exactly what was going on.

"Kurt?" she asked carefully. Kurt was frantically scribbling on a piece of paper, and he just made a little noise to let her know he heard her.

"Can we talk? I have something I need to say to you." she said, determined to get it all out of him that night.

"What is it? I have so much work, it better be fast." he said, sounding almost irritable. Rachel sighed.

"What's going on with Blaine and Dave?" she asked, no hesitation.

"What's going on with Bl- What?" Kurt asked, sounding annoyed. Rachel knew he would pretend absolutely nothing was weird, or seemed weird at least.

"Come on, Kurt. I see the way you look at them and the way they look at you. It's obvious you like each other! Does Blaine know about Dave? Or the other way around?" she asked, leaning in. Kurt looked as though he had just swallowed a lemon.

"I have no idea where you got such a crazy notion in your head. I hardly know wither of them, and I don't want them to be my boyfriends." he said, leaning in and saying it as though it was a big secret. Rachel raised her eyebrows at him.

"Please, Kurt. I can see differently. Do you know how long I've spent staring at Finn? And if you don't think I tried that face out in the mirror to make sure I didn't look stupid, then you're wrong. I know the lovestruck face better than I know the back of my hand. And you're making it at two boys and they're making it back."

"You are crazy. Why do I tolerate you?"

"Are you leading them both on?" Rachel asked persistently. They were both leaning so far forwards that they were on the edge of their seats, faces only a few inches apart over the small table.

"No. I'm not leading anyone on."

"Kurt, your lying is driving me up the wall."

"Ok!" Kurt said, rather loudly, rocketing all the way back into his seat and an a brief flail of limbs, both his arms and legs were crossed. He stared hard at Rachel. "You want the truth?"

She nodded, leaning back a bit as well.

"I like both of them, ok? I like both of them a lot, and it's for very different reasons, so there's no way I can even compare them. And that sort of contrast keeps me happy. So yes, I will continue to be with both of them for as long as I possibly can, and eventually I'll pick. But right now, that's not even an option. And leading on or not, I like this and I'll just keep on."

Kurt gave Rachel a look that positively dared her to try and argue in any way. But Rachel, who knew Kurt better than anyone besides Blaine and Dave, knew he wasn't totally happy. The prospect of having to pick one equal over the other was looming over him, and while Kurt was happy in the moment, he was purposely ignoring the long term affects of what he was doing. It was nothing serious, he wasn't cheating on anyone or anything, but heartbreak from one or more of the parties seemed to be the only possible outcome of the situation Kurt had put himself in.

Rachel sighed and nodded again, not wanting to confront Kurt about anything else that night. She knew she was lucky to have gotten that much truth out of him.

They did their homework in silence, trying to ignore their emotions.

When Kurt had slid into bed that night, he thought hard about what Rachel had said. He had never even considered that wither of them had feelings for him. Ok, Blaine maybe after that song, but Kurt just dismissed that as wishful thinking. He had just gone along with what Rachel had said to make her be quiet. But now an awful guilt was overwhelming him. Was he, Kurt Hummel, the most socially awkward Slytherin boy in existence, leading on two smart, funny, attractive boys? How was it even possible? He didn't think… Dave had been flirting, but that was before they really knew each other… Blaine was just a flirty person, he'd flirt with a rock if he wanted to…

But now, Kurt was wondering if all these thoughts were false. Could he be lying to himself, making up stories to convince himself that his friends didn't love him? That he didn't love his friends as much as he really did? He was confused and annoyed, curious and guilty. He drifted off into an uneasy sleep.


	17. Even Though Love Means Exposing Yourself

Brittany decided to ditch Defence Against the Dark Arts. That wasn't much of a surprise, considering she was in Dumbledore's Army the previous year and really didn't like Snape and Santana actually encouraged sneaking away from class. But Santana was supposed to be well enough to be let out of the hospital wing today and she was beyond eager for it. So eager, in fact, that she was willing to ignore one of the classes she promised Dave she would work harder in to go see Santana.

Still, no one knew what that boy did to her. He had received an in-school suspension for his troubles, but that did nothing to mend Santana's friends broken hearts seeing her unconscious body in the hospital bed.

But now it was time for all that to end, and Brittany would finally see Santana out of that goddamn bed.

She jogged to the hospital wing effortlessly. She nearly burst through the front doors and saw Santana asleep in her bed, a pile of books by her side. When she was awake, Santana had admitted that the best thing about staying in the hospital wing was being able to sleep whenever she wanted. Brittany hurried over to her bedside. She hadn't told her friends about her plans to come here, she wanted it to just be her and Santana.

She sat down and took one of Santana's limp hands in hers and just watched Santana sleep. She mumbled a bit and twitched but didn't wake up. Brittany thought she looked like some sort of angel while she was sleeping, even though there was no way anyone else would ever believe she was. She could be an imp, maybe, or a nymph. A siren. Either way, Brittany thought she was too gorgeous when she was asleep to be human. She wasn't too bad awake, either, but she looked so annoyed most of the time it was hard to tell.

Fifteen minutes past and Brittany just gazed happily at her friend, waiting for her to wake up and see she was there. She wanted to see Santana's reaction. She gently rubbed her hand. Santana stirred a bit and half mumbled half moaned something that Brittany couldn't have understood if her life depended on it. Then Santana's hand flew from Brittany's and went over hear head, she stretched before she even opened her eyes. Brittany giggled a bit.

"Hey San!" Brittany said, and Santana's eyes flew open right away, and she looked almost terrified for a seconds, but she relaxed and put a hand on her chest, exhaling with a little sigh.

"Hey. You're here." Santana said, grinning a bit now that she was over the shock of seeing her favorite person in the world watching her sleep.

"I know I am. You're getting out today, right?" Brittany asked, looking eagerly at Santana. Santana nodded. "Whenever Madam Pomfrey decides it's time for me to go… Say Britt, what class are you skipping?"

"Defence Against the Dark Arts." Brittany said, waiting for praise and looking incredibly puppy-like. Santana chuckled, obviously still waking up. "Good girl." she said, looking at the stack of books on her bedside table and sighing. "I haven't caught up on all my work…"

"Does it matter?" Brittany said, and Santana pursed her lips, wondering what the right answer to that was.

"Well… Uh… What do you wanna be when we get out of here?" Santana asked, sitting up in her bad a bit. Brittany looked at the ceiling and considered for a while before saying "I want to do something with magical creatures, like Hagrid."

"Well then… What classes do you think you need to pay attention to to work with magical creatures?"

"Care of Magical Creatures! And… And…"

"What if an animal tries to hurt you?" Santana said, her tone implying the answer was right in front of Brittany's face. However, Brittany had to stop and think about it.

"Like… I dunno, San."

"Maybe Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration?" Santana said. Brittany's face brightened as though she had found the answer all by herself.

"See? You have to pay attention to class… But only some of them." Santana said the last part mischievously as she sat all the way up and Brittany giggled.

"What do you want to be, San?" Brittany asked, tilting her head a bit. Santana knew she should really be thinking about it because she graduated the next year, but she really had no idea what she was cut out for. She had no outstanding talents that she could see, except being snarky. She was pretty good on a broom, but she couldn't see herself playing quidditch as a career. She wanted to give Brittany an honest answer however, and so she took a while, staring at her hands over the clean white bedsheets.

"I guess I want to be an auror. I mean, that would be pretty cool." she said with a little shrug. Brittany nodded, and she was either pretending very well or really knew exactly what Santana meant. That she could clear her own name as a Slytherin and as a jerk by being an auror. She wouldn't be half bad at it either, she was fabulous in all the old DA meetings.

Madam Pomfrey bustled over to give Santana one last minute, rushed inspection. With an exasperated sigh, she gave a dismissive wave of her hand and said "Well, you're ready to go. Be more careful this time."

Santana almost laughed. Madam Pomfrey said "this time" as if people's lives were divided into increments that laid between their hospital visits. But at Hogwarts, that might as well be true. Brittany grinned and took Santana's hands firmly, helping her out of her bed even though there was no need. Santana's heart leapt out of her chest. She tried not to show it, but touches from Brittany were like little jolts of electricity shooting through her, right to her heart. It was nice, but it was scary almost. She didn't like feeling so attached to someone by something as fearfully fleeting as electricity.

Santana thought of it as electricity, Brittany thought of it as love. To the blonde, it was a much more solid bond.

Madam Pomfrey smiled at them and walked off to attend to the few others using the hospital wing. Brittany helped Santana carry her books, neither of them spoke. But that was ok for them. They didn't think it awkward or strange, the two girls actually preferred not talking sometimes. There was something special in silence.

But fear was growing inside Santana. In the hospital wing, she had a lot of time to think, and her thoughts turned into fantasies. Fantasies of her coming out to Brittany, and Brittany accepting her for who she was. She couldn't deny that sometimes they were a bit cheesy and dramatic, but sometimes she just wanted the Disney Princess treatment, complete with full blown happy ending. She couldn't help herself from thinking those thoughts when real life was so sloppy and messy and awkward.

But one day, when she realized she could make her fantasies a reality, the shock hit her like a curse in the chest. It was like somewhere inside her she always knew she could, but the full blown reality of the choices she had suddenly sped out from her subconscious into the front of her very conscious thoughts, and if she had been standing at the moment she probably would have had to clutch someone's shoulder for support. Realizing she had that kind of power over her life was shocking.

So fantasy turned into a plan to come out to Brittany the day she got out. But in her mind, there was always the cushy, protected feel of dreams around her plans, her practiced words. Now that the time to say it was actually there, a paralyzing fear was gripping her, trying to turn her inside out and squeeze at her heart.

Every time she opened her mouth, it felt like all the air vanished from her lungs and she just closed her mouth again. I happened five times before Brittany really noticed anything. They were outside the hospital wing, on their way to the entrance to the Slytherin common room.

"San, are you ok? Do we need to go back?" Brittany said, looking a little amused and a little more concerned. Santana sighed, knowing it was now or never. She leaned down and set the stack of books she was carrying on the ground next to her feet.

"Britt, I have something to tell you." she said seriously. Brittany's little grin vanished as she set her books on the ground as well. Santana took a deep breath as she looked her very best friend in the eye.

"Did anyone tell you why I got put into the hospital wing?" she asked. Brittany nodded.

"Well than you know that douche of a kid called you some names, and I felt pretty bad after that so I tried to go after him. And you know me, and you know how I've always been there for you. And since you know what I'm all about, you know I'm not some princess or some fairy and I won't ever be. I'm angry and I'm tired of everyone's bullshit. But I've been kind of bullshitting you for not telling you something, and it's pretty damn important if I do say so myself.

I'm gay, Britt. I didn't think I was, but life can be pretty surprising sometimes. And, you know, I'm sure this is going to be a but of a punch in the gut for both of us, but I love you. I've loved you for a long time and I probably won't ever stop loving you. But that's the deal now… So… So take it or leave it, ok Britt?" she said, trying to stay the fierce, independent woman she was at the beginning of her little speech. But she couldn't stop the tears from filling her eyes and her arms from crossing over her chest. She didn't know what she was so afraid of, but she was and she hated it.

"Oh, San…" Brittany said, and she leaned over and wrapped her arms around Santana's shoulders, pulling their bodies together the same way she had alway done since they were kids. She looked at how far they had come. From scraped knees all the way to coming out. It didn't surprise her, but it warmed her heart. She almost wanted to cry too, just for the sheer sake of letting all her emotions go, but the last thing Santana needed was to see her crying, she knew that. It would lead to all sorts of false assumptions.

"It's ok. It's not a big deal… I'm ok with it, it's ok… You know I love you, Santana, we can make it ok…"

"You love me?" Santana asked, choked up, from Brittany's shoulder.

"Well, probably not the way you love me. But I love you, and look at what's happened to everyone. Luna has a boyfriend, Dave's… Well… I don't know what he's doing. But he hangs out with Kurt a lot… Anyway, there's a happy ending for everyone. And I think anything's possible so… We can both keep our hopes up. And if it doesn't work out for us, I would be happy to be a bridesmaid at your wedding." Brittany said, and Santana shook as she cried into Brittany's shoulder.

Santana would never be able to tell Brittany just how grateful she was that she had her, no matter what happened.

Luna didn't know what had come over her. She didn't know how to deal with herself the way she usually did. Things were changing inside her. Where she was so sure of herself before, there was always just a tiny hint of doubt there now. But if there was one thing she didn't doubt a bit it was that it was Artie's fault.

She didn't blame him, of course. It wasn't his fault that he liked two girls at once. Luna thought that must be fairly normal, actually. People just assumed that when you fall in love with someone they'll give you everything. But when they don't, they leave you disappointed and you have to find another someone to fill in those blanks. She understood.

But that didn't stop her from becoming a bit sad. She thought she could be enough for Artie because he was certainly enough for her, and she wanted to know what she was doing wrong. Or maybe not totally wrong, but something she could improve upon, maybe. Not a big, overall change, but something satisfying for the both of them.

She really didn't know what she wanted.

But she knew the key to solving problems was through communication, and she knew exactly what to do.

Over the next few days, she made sure Artie was deliberately getting to see Ginny a bit. Sitting down so they could see her at breakfast, pushing him near her in the halls, and things like that. She had never tried anything as particularly devious as this plan before, but she did know that her timing with everything had to be perfect. She had to make Artie really want to talk to Ginny, and they could work their own things out.

Anything had to be better than just waiting around for him to choose someone, or give up both of them. Luna hated feeling anxious more than anything.

She could see that by the end of the week, Artie was nearly fidgeting in his seat every time they passed Ginny, which was much more often than usual. He looked a bit uncomfortable and out of place, and Luna didn't want to make him upset, so one day as she was pushing him through the halls she exclaimed she had to use the girls room and hugged him shortly before walking off. Conveniently enough, she had stopped pushing him right next to where Ginny Weasley's bag had fallen off her shoulder and fell to the floor with a large clatter. Luna smiled softly to herself as she walked off, stopping a ways away to observe what went on without either of them noticing. The deviousness of her entire plan had caught up to her over the past few days, and she realized she might be making Artie a bit confused by constantly making him face the two girls he wanted at once, even if it was just in passing. But she was so incredibly eager to see what he was thinking that she just had to finish up what she was doing. She suspected it would be good for Artie too, because he would finally be able to talk out his feelings with Ginny. This would all be very beneficial.

Artie was having a fierce internal struggle. He was just waiting for Luna to come back from the bathroom, but there was Ginny, scrambling to put things back in her bag. He had been dying to talk to her, and this was a perfect opportunity. What kind of person would he be if he didn't take it? And even more importantly, what kind of person would he be if he did?

He just wanted to sort everything out, to stop wanting two different girls for very different reasons. It was confusing, and obnoxious, and the time to stop all of that was right then.

"Hi Ginny." he said, wheeling over to her and smiling a little to wide. She grinned up at him, apparently at ease. "Hey, Artie." she said.

"Can we talk?" Artie asked. Ginny suddenly looked serious, but said "Sure."

"Well… The thing is… Oh my god, this is really awkward…"

"Artie, if you need to say something, you should say it." Ginny said, her kind voice not matching the harshness of the statement. Artie sighed. He felt like he had screwed up a lot over the past few days with himself and Luna, but he wasn't going to screw this up.

"Well, I have to be blunt. I still like you a little, and I know I'm dating another girl and all but… It's just awkward. Liking the two of you at once, that is and… I just feel like you should know so I could, I dunno, get it off my chest…"

Ginny sighed, standing up and looking down at him, looking like she was biting back saying something that would make him sad. Not necessarily offensive, but not exactly pleasing either.

Artie was nearly quivering with anticipation. What she said next could determine the rest of his year, his life even. What if she said she missed him too and they ended up married or something? That would be insane, but it happened. Artie saw the look on her face, however, and just had to hope with all his might he wasn't about to get heartbroken. He knew girls, and he knew how harsh they could be, especially when they didn't mean to. A million thoughts were racing through his head, colliding, one after another. The silence that Ginny was creating just kept accelerating the buzzing in his head, making it louder and louder until she finally spoke, and all buzzing ceased completely.

"Artie… I really liked you but… I don't really like you the way I used to. I think you're great but after we broke up it was kinda clear you were better off with Luna, and I'll be honest with you. At this point, I really have eyes for… Um, for Harry Potter. So, I'm sorry but… Even if we were to get back together, I don't think it would work out."

She gave him a little smile before turning on her heel and walking to class without giving him a second glance.

Whatever Artie expected, it wasn't that. He had mostly pictured a longer talk, where he could tell her how he really felt. Explain himself, and the way he was feeling. Not beg for a second chance, but throw it out there as an option. But she just made quick work of him, clearing the way she felt right up and moving on. Artie wished he could do that, and he thought he could if he worked at it, but he couldn't just erase someone from his memories like that. And Harry Potter? Him? Where in the name of hell did that come from?

Luna saw his crestfallen expression even from as far away as she was, and she felt like a little man was chipping away at her heart watching Artie be that sad. But over another girl… She didn't know what to think about that. But what mattered to her right then was that she was there for him.

Luna walked over to him, her hair around her shoulders. She tried very briefly to walk like Ginny Weasley did, with that little boy-catching swing in her hips that she did without a second thought. She stopped after a few seconds, though. It really didn't suit her.

"Hello, Artie." she said softly as she approached, wanting very badly to hear the details of his little talk with Ginny. "I saw you talking with Ginny Weasley." she said bluntly. Artie looked up at her, sadness overwhelming his slightly magnified eyes, looking even bigger under his glasses when they were about to spill over with sadness.

"Yeah. It's not a very big deal, though…"

"Do you want to tell me what you were talking about?"

"Yes… And no."

"Well… I think sooner or later you'll just have to pick one. I don't think a person could do both at the same time."

Artie gave a little, desparately-searching-for-humor smile at his girlfriend, who was steadily pushing him along to Charms.

"But you do know, Artie, that if you ever need to talk, I'll be here."

"Thanks, Luna."

"That's what girlfriends are for."

"I think… I think I'll just try and get over Ginny. All the way. One hundred percent."

"That's the spirit, I suppose. I do think girls like it when boys don't like two of them at once."

"Luna, you say that as if you weren't a girl."

"Well, I've never done any of this before. It's all rather new to me, so I just have to assume about other girls."

"Well… Actually… I think you've done well."

"Thank you."

A faint bit of color flooded Luna's cheeks and her heart soared away, she gazed affectionately at the top of Artie's head. She thought he was very handsome, even when she could only see a bit of his hair and the cute little gloves he wore so he could spin his wheels faster.

"Artie, I love you very much." se said quietly, leaning down a bit so only he could hear her.

He was filled with his desperate infatuation with her, so suddenly it almost dizzied him. He felt the same way when he and Ginny were dating, he just needed to know what she was thinking more than anything. He needed to find out how she interacted with others, how she would interact with him. How she could be so mystically attractive and so secluded at once. Everything about her was shrouded in just a bit of mystery, which was rather sexy to Artie. Everything except her opinions, which she had stuck out for the world to see since she was old enough to have them. That made her smart in his eyes, confident. She was stunning to him. But not like fireworks or gunshots, more like a slowly burning candle. It was amazing.

"I love you too, Luna. I'm just a bit confused right now…"

"I know you'll work it out. You're smart enough."

Artie beamed with self pride all the way to Charms.


	18. Even Though Love Can Sneak Away

Blaine was very, very satisfied at the way things were going with Kurt. He was still flat out denying it, to himself and others, but somewhere deep inside himself he knew he wanted Kurt as more than a friend. At least a little bit. After seeing Kurt sing (and maybe even a bit before) that seed of a thought was planted inside him and Kurt was caring for it tenderly, nursing it to full growth. However, the plant was barely poking it's head out of the soil yet. But it was getting there.

However, the idea of Dave was still slightly annoying to Blaine. He certainly didn't want to seem angry, selfish, or overprotective, but he at least wanted to know Dave. Blaine wanted to know anyone whose name could light up Kurt's eyes like that, at least. Maybe he wasn't a bad guy at all.

So during the next Charms lesson, Blaine waved goodbye to Seamus, Neville, and Dean and easily spotted Dave sitting next to another Ravenclaw boy and girl. There was an empty seat on his left side, so Blaine swaggered over to them with confidence and sat down.

"Hello." he said cheerily when Dave looked at him curiously.

"Uh, hey." Dave said, giving a little nod of his head that had been resting in his right hand. The blonde haired, big eyed Ravenclaw girl and the boy in a wheelchair turned around to look at Blaine as well.

"Hello. I'm Luna Lovegood." the girl said, stretching her hand on the desk in front of Dave's torso, and Blaine shook it with a little grin.

"I'm Blaine Anderson. And you?"

"Artie Abrams." the boy in the wheelchair said, nodding briefly at Blaine the same way Dave did.

Blaine noticed Harry sitting in the row in front of them, with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger of course. While he didn't have feelings for Harry anymore, he couldn't just erase the part of himself he had programmed to notice when Harry was around. It was a small distraction though, he really just needed to focus on Dave. Blaine took his eyes off the back of Harry's head just as Harry turned around to check if anyone was staring. Blaine felt a brief wave of embarrassment before looking back at Dave, who was actually paying attention to him now.

"Have a crush on Potter?" he asked, half teasing half serious. Blaine blushed faintly and rolled his eyes.

"You're close. I used to." he said in an almost unamused voice. Dave nodded, grinning to himself. Blaine didn't exactly know how to start talking to Dave about Kurt. He had that very pushed-inward quality of someone hiding themselves from others. However, Blaine was just assuming he was gay. He should have asked Kurt before he even got the idea to talk to Dave in his head. Maybe Kurt wouldn't have a chance with Dave at all. Even if Dave was straight and Kurt liked him, Blaine would be able to sympathize. He knew how alluring straight guys could be.

But there was no way he was just going to flat out ask if Dave was gay. That was rude and would probably make him uncomfortable. But the silence was becoming unbearable.

"You fly on the Ravenclaw quidditch team, right?" Blaine asked Dave casually. Dave nodded. "Yeah, Keeper." he said, and Blaine watched it as he slowly became more comfortable.

"Are you excited for the game coming up?" Blaine asked, now smiling just a bit. Dave seemed like a very nice guy. A little shy of course, but nice all the same. Dave nodded again. "If we beat Gryffindor, we'll be in first place for the cup, so yeah. That's pretty exciting." he said, obviously enjoying talking about something he liked. Blaine shrugged. "I've never really been too into quidditch." he said. "But it is fun to watch." Dave looked at him, a little taken aback.

"Come on, you gotta like quidditch. It's the best sport in the world!"

But just then Professor Flitwick cleared his throat to indicate the start of class, and both Blaine and Dave's attention was directed to the front of the room, where the tiny professor was standing on top of a stool and two books to direct them. They would be trying to move water from one glass to another without using anything but magic. When they advanced past that, those very smart individuals would be able to work on making it form smiley faces and loop-the-loops in midair before going to the other glass. Once having gotten all their materials and wands out, Blaine and Dave resumed their broken off conversation.

"So, not to be very nosy, but who do you hang out with? Just Luna and Artie?" Blaine asked, and his tone implied that the question was totally innocent. Dave, concentrating hard on his work, just shrugged.

"I hang out with some girls from Slytherin and Hufflepuff too… And Kurt." he added as an afterthought. He made a face as if he had just smelled something nasty. He had just fully remembered that Blaine was also always around Kurt, probably flirting with him and doing little couply-like things. But Blaine took the look the wrong way and assumed it meant Dave had something against Kurt. Blaine pointed his wand at the glass, practiced the well-rehearsed spell, and watched the water try and hoist itself out of the glass feebly.

"Something on your mind?" he asked, a very well hidden tone of aggression in his voice. Dave shook his head, he actually had a rope of water suspended in midair and was woking on coaxing it along. Blaine stared in wonder. How on earth had he managed to master the skill so fast? He looked down at Hermione Granger for comparison, and saw she was doing the same thing Dave was.

"I dunno. I just hang out with Kurt a lot… Yeah." Dave said once he let the water fall into the other glass with a loud plop, sloshing all over the desk. Blaine nodded.

"Cool, cool…" he mumbled, wanting to know more. He certainly didn't want a complete privacy invasion, but one or two more details would have been nice.

"You see a lot of him too, right?" Dave asked, and Blaine nodded. He was extremely glad that Dave brought it up, he felt like it would have been awfully rude if he just kept prying.

"So, like… What do you two do together?" Dave asked, disregarding privacy and obviously not caring what Blaine thought. Blaine shrugged, trying ferociously to move his water about. Quite a few people were catching on now, and drops of water were suspended in the air all across the classroom.

"We hang out, we talk… I got him to sing for me a while ago, and we do that more now too." Blaine said, smiling a little bit at the last part. Kurt's voice was perfectly lovely, in his opinion. Almost as lovely as his eyes…

"Oh… That's pretty nice." Dave said a bit sourly, trying valiantly to twist his water into shapes in midair. Blaine felt a little bit of pride swell in his chest, oddly enough.

"Cause you know… You can tell Kurt really likes you when he talks about you…" Dave muttered, his voice getting lower and lower as he talked, and he looked a bit annoyed. Far from his good start in the lesson, he seemed to be making the opposite of progress. Something was obviously distracting him, and Blaine thought he knew what.

Blaine had always had a little theory, and that was that everyone had a little bit of the house traits inside them and that your true house was determined by the qualities you chose to act on. Blaine, for reasons unknown to Dave and himself (Blaine later suspected it to be well hidden jealousy), Blaine chose to act on the Slytherin part deep down inside him that lesson.

He sighed in a way that reeked of self confidence and said "You know, on our next Hogsmede weekend, I had been planning to ask Kurt out. You know… Just kind of make the trip a date rather than just hanging out like usual, but… I'm not quite sure just yet…"

Dave's hand clenched on his wand a little bit. Not quite sure yet? What? Dave thought you either loved Kurt Hummel or you hated him. Dave certainly knew he loved Kurt, and if this boy was just going to drift around in the middle, playing dumb, toying around with Kurt's heart, even, he certainly wasn't worth his affections. Who did Blaine think he was?

"You know, I would ask him if I were you. If you don't do it now, someone else will." Dave said, smirking at Blaine in a way that implied that yes, they certainly were in a race to get to Kurt's heart. That made a little alarm go off in Blaine's head, and a little chord twang in his heart. There was something mean in Dave's tone… He had no doubt then that Dave preferred boys over girls. So that little piece of fantasy had been chipped off of Blaine's wishes about he and Kurt.

"I don't know about that, as far as I'm concerned, not many boys here are his type. And I get the distinct impression he likes to take it slow, don't you?"

Blaine's tone was challenging. Both Blaine and Dave were digging themselves into deeper and deeper holes.

"I dunno. I was actually under the impression he was pretty open minded about his guys. Or did you not pick that up?"

Dave mocked Blaine very slightly with his tone of voice.

"Whoa guys, what's going on over there?" Artie asked from the opposite end of the table. The two other boys just pretended they didn't hear him, say anything.

"The part about Kurt being open minded? Oh, I picked that up a long time ago. Please remind me why you care so much…?" Blaine said, trailing off and completely disregarding the lesson. Dave paused, open mouthed, not sure what to say.

To him, there were two options. Admit or run away. He could tell Blaine how Kurt meant the world to him. How he was there when Santana was attacked, how he helped him feel relaxed. How he's slowly helping Dave get over his fear of judgement. Or, he could do what he usually did. Pretend he didn't hear Blaine. Scoff. Roll his eyes. Mumble a threat. Work. Talk to Artie and Luna. Namely, pretend the question was never asked.

Blaine looked far too triumphant for Dave's taste though. Dave leaned in and whispered menacingly.

"Listen. Kurt is easily the best kid in this whole entire school. I don't care what I end up doing with him, or what you end up doing with him. But if you were doing anything more than messing with me when you were all 'Oh, I dunno if I'm gonna ask him out', and if you make him feel uncertain like that, I will make you regret it."

Dave leaned back to his seat, looking rather annoyed at everything. Blaine's face was stuck between admiration and shock.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come off like that at all…" Blaine said quietly. Dave ignored him completely, his water was feebly trying to twist itself in the air. Blaine sighed.

"I know what just happened was the worst possible first impression ever, but I just want you to know that I'm not as bad about this as I just made myself seem and I don't think you're a bad guy either, so…"

He trailed off. Dave was still pretending Blaine was nothing more than a spare quill or a speck of dust. Now guilt was building up inside Blaine. Why on earth did he think it was a good idea to start messing with Dave? That was stupid. He was stupid. And for all he knew, Kurt might want them to start hanging out all together in the future. Blaine sighed and started working again, trying hard not to over-think anything. Dave was ignoring him as well, and Artie and Luna were back to talking to each other.

Minutes passed, and Blaine was nearly drowning in the amount of awkward tension he created. Dave was still looking a bit ticked, and Blaine knew that meant he was over-thinking everything too. It was comforting to know he wasn't totally alone in that area, but it was unnerving to think that they were both just getting themselves emotional over nothing. Blaine was already feeling sorry for himself, and wanted to somehow communicate to Dave that he was sorry.

Dave sighed, and Blaine nearly whipped around in his seat to see if he would say something. He was beginning to get antsy.

"Sorry for getting mad." Dave mumbled, half sincere, half still annoyed. "I've never been one to explain the way I feel well but Kurt means a lot, so…"

"Yeah." Blaine said quietly, looking down. "I get it."

Just then, they both understood something crucial to their futures. They both knew they loved Kurt, very much and for very different reasons. They understood they would both have to work against each other to impress Kurt first because it was obvious he cared for both of them, and both boys knew that even if they had a chance of becoming friends before the jealousy would be too much to bear if they tried to get along after Kurt chose one of them.

Angry, anxious feelings disappeared within the both of them and were replaced by a hollow sadness as they both realized Kurt could drag all this out for as long as he wanted and both of them would just have to play along. How long could Kurt go, just holding them both in his heart like it was some sort of cage?

Blaine stared at the back of Harry's head the way he used to. But as opposed to before when he stared, he wasn't begging for the famous Harry Potter to please, please, please fancy him as well, but now asking the messy back of Harry's head how to deal with Kurt and Dave, and why he was so jealous of something so stupid and of someone that wasn't really a threat to any part of his relationship with Kurt yet.

He looked over at Dave, head in one of his hands, and whispered "You are gay, right?"

"I think I've made that clear enough." Dave grumbled, and Blaine nodded.

Something tiny shifted inside Dave. Aside from Santana (and probably Kurt), no one knew he liked boys. But he just came out to someone who was virtually a stranger… What overcame him? Why did he suddenly have the courage to do that? He was confused about his own motives and why he just did it so suddenly. He wasn't even thinking about it…

And even though he didn't trust Blaine and saw him as kind of annoying and self centered, the casualness of his reaction was almost soothing. It was nice, knowing that Blaine didn't care. Just a little nod of the head. That was nice, it wasn't an overreaction. No one was hexed, there was no jeering or teasing. Just a nice little nod…

Dave really liked it.

Rachel stalked down the castle's corridors, heading for the Gryffindor common room. She was determined to talk to Finn, it had been too long and there was still an extremely awkward tension between them. He was determined not to resolve their issues, looking for some sort of wedge to force them apart with. But he was Rachel's first boyfriend, and the first person she ever really loved. She was clinging onto that love by a thread, but it was too special to her to let go. He had shown her what life could be like when she was in love, and it was marvelous. Her heart thudded like it was pumping out music instead of blood and everything was rose tinted and even the worst insults sounded like compliments.

But then Quinn got pregnant and everything dissolved into a sloppy mess of untied ends and overemotional women crowding Finn's head. He did love Rachel, but he couldn't deny that she was hard to deal with. And the fact that she was so desperate for his affections she had given him stolen love potion really shook him. It had been a long time ago by that point, but a warning signal still went off inside his head whenever he saw her. He was constantly confused by it.

That night, Rachel had left Kurt to finish his homework and talk to Quinn, Santana, and Draco who were all siting by the hearth to go find Finn. She knew where the Gryffindor common room was of course, due to her and Finn's earlier relationship and many pranks she had been roped into.

It was getting late, and she didn't have her watch. She started getting a little antsy, wondering if by the time she got back she would be breaking curfew.

So she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard footsteps. However, just a few more seconds of listening and she knew they weren't a teachers footsteps. They were loud and smacking. Noah Puckerman came around the corner, swaggering as usual. He was splattered with mud and he had a broomstick slung over his shoulder, looking as content with himself as usual. Rachel thought that expression was just for show, but now seeing him look so smug when no one was really watching just made her realize that Puck actually did think highly of himself.

"Sup, Berry?" he asked, dropping the usual little jokes about how she was Jewish or bossy or whatever it was he didn't like about her that day.

"Nothing. Why were you out flying so late?" Rachel asked, trying to turn the conversation away from what she was doing out of her common room.

"Practicing. Gonna tell me to get back to bed?" Puck asked with a little devilish smirk. Rachel rolled her eyes, although she had been contemplating telling him jet that.

"Really though, are you sneaking around trying to find Finn?" Puck asked, as though he had just been prodding her for that answer before. Rachel's mouth opened slightly, but she didn't speak. It was as if he had just opened her mind like a book and found out exactly what she was trying to keep from him.

"Dude, you need to give it a rest with him." Puck said.

"Ok, first, don't call me 'dude;, please. And second, what would make you say that?"

"Well… You kinda slipped him love potion…"

"That was a long time ago!"

"Yeah, but it was as creepy as all hell. Dudes don't just forget stuff like that. They like it when girls are obvious and not sneaking around and acting crazy. Trust me." he said.

There was something easy to trust about his "trust me" and Rachel suddenly saw him as a valuable source of information about boys, particularly Finn.

"But what does Finn like?" Rachel asked, sounding like an inexperienced little girl. Rather than teasing her like usual, Puck actually considered her question. He thought it was probably just the flirt inside him, but he wouldn't mind having this conversation. It kept him away from his homework, at least.

"Well, like, he's kind of a moron so he likes it when his girls aren't super confusing… Actually, it's hard to tell what Finn likes. To be honest, there are like a million girls in this school that would be perfect for him and not boss him around and be annoying and all that shit he hates, but he always picks the ones that only ever do that stuff. So I don't know, maybe he's just stupid…"

"You think I'm bossy and annoying?" Rachel asked quietly, tilting her head down as if trying to hide just a bit and looking up at Puck.

"I don't know. You seem annoying, but I've only ever actually talked to you like twice."

"I'm actually starting to think you're not as mean as people make you out to be."

"Don't be telling other people that! Then first years will be all over me for help with their homework and stuff…"

"Come on, why on earth would you want someone to not know how good of a person you could be?"

"You ask annoying questions."

"You need to learn more adjectives besides 'annoying'."

Puck smirked at her, silently respecting her a bit more for coming up with an acceptable retort so fast. The flirt inside him really flared up, and he offered her his least muddy arm.

"Want me to walk you to the Gryffindor common room?" he asked smoothly.

Rachel was a little reluctant to take his arm. Anyone who would possibly see them might get ideas, and come to think of it, Puck himself might get an idea. However, she couldn't deny there was something comforting about Puck. Something inside her knew that he was, and always had been, just as open and relaxed with his feelings and opinions as she was, and she respected that to say the least.

She took his arm as she had seen women do in movies (she had really never been in that position before) and let Puck lead her to the common room. He started making small talk, and she responded calmly, but there was a definite note of curiosity in her voice. Curiosity about Puck. How could someone so mean and so charming be wrapped up all in the same package?

They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady much faster than Rachel had expected them too, and she looked down at them with a tired look in her eyes. Rachel strode towards her confidently, but Puck grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back, letting his broom fall to the ground with a clatter.

"What are you doing?" he asked, and Rachel looked at him quizzically.

"Going to talk to Finn." she said as if it was totally obvious. Puck chuckled at her as if he was smarter than her and rolled his eyes.

"Rachel, you're a Slytherin. No one in there likes you except for Hermione. I'm not just gonna let you swag all up in the common room. I'll bring Finn out here." he said, and the Fat Lady was looking on with interest.

"Password?" she asked when he walked up in the same easy way Rachel had.

In a few short seconds, Puck had left her alone with no one but the Fat Lady and a slightly uncomfortable silence. She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet and led than a minute later, Finn clambered out of the portrait hole, looking confused and tied. He had obviously just been doing difficult homework.

"Uh, hey Rachel." he said.

"Hello Finn. I actually wanted to talk about the way we've been acting towards each other lately…" she started, and Finn looked weary.

"Can we do this another time, Rachel? I promise we can do it, but I'm about to pass out…"

"See, this is exactly what the problem is! We can never make time to work out our issues, so we're always just stuck in this rut-"

"I know, I know. But this is like a really bad time cause I am so wacked out and tired and it's not even cool right now."

"Finn, we aren't going to do this any time if we don't do it right now!" Rachel said, shifting from obnoxious yet polite to passionate, and Finn sighed. He knew Rachel and he knew she was going to make him listen, whether he wanted to or not. He sat down on the floor and beaconed for her to o the same. She slowly sat down next to him and there was a silence where they both gathered theta thoughts.

"So… What do you want to talk about?" Finn asked in a rather tired way. Rachel looked up at the high ceiling, thinking.

"Well, since that night we haven't had a good conversation, we're not talking anything out, and there's no way we're getting this relationship back on track if we don't communicate!" she said. Finn sat up.

"This… relationship?" he asked. She nodded.

"But, I thought you knew I broke up with you because Quinn was pregnant…"

"But the baby wasn't yours!" she said persistently. Part of Finn wanted to chuckle and the other part wanted to get up and leave. He was rather embarrassed for her.

"Rachel, I know I was your first boyfriend and stuff, but just because I leave you for, uh, other responsibilities, then get rid of that, doesn't mean we get back together. Dating someone isn't just a thing to bounce back to. You get one good chance, and then if you want another one you have to work your ass off to get anywhere. So just cause Quinn's out of my life now doesn't mean I'm just gonna run right back to you…"

The truth of Finn's statement hit her like a snowball in the face. She had just assumed that since they had worked hard through rough spots so many times that they would just power through this one. But it wasn't just a rough spot anymore, it was a full blown break up. Rachel couldn't believe she didn't understand any of that until just then, and she felt numb and embarrassed.

"I- I can understand that… I can respect it too. It's just that…"

"You love me? Yeah… I really loved you for a long time but… Having grown-up things to deal with really changes your perspective on things. And it even though Quinn's not really in my life anymore, the whole situation with her and the baby kinda put me in a new chapter of my life where I see everything straight up as it is…. When I was dating you, Rachel, everything felt like sunshine and roses. And that was great for a while, but that stuff has to come to a stop sometime and I want us both to be able to move on healthily."

Rachel nodded at Finn's words, astounded by his wisdom. Sure, he was putting his own little Finn-esque twist on it that made it sound less smart, but it was smart all the same and Rachel understood it. She was glad he had found the kindest possible way to say "I'm not interested". The walls around her heart were melting away and all the little things he had said started to sink in.

God, he was ending it. All of it, her very first relationship, he was just calling it quits.

Why was that so incredibly painful?

A few tears gathered in her eyes, and she looked down so he wouldn't see them. Finn had seen her do that before though, and knew she was getting seriously upset.

"Listen Rach, don't go beating yourself up over this. I know break ups can be bad, but it's best if you can move on fast. Can you do that for me?" he asked, tilting his head and scrunching his tall frame down so he could peek at her face. She turned away, straightening up a bit and looking a bit more determined.

"I can do that." she said confidently, but her voice quivered a bit. Finn nodded just to confirm it and she nodded back, still composing herself. She stood up, wanting to get away from Finn and think things over in the comfort of her bed.

"I'll see you around, Finn." she said in the over-dramatic way they were both very used to. He nodded. "See you, Rachel." he said. Rachel started to leave, but stopped as though she had an afterthought.

"Oh and Finn…. Tell Puck thank you for taking me up here." she said before turning and walking away, back to the comfort of her friends and her common room. Finn looked at her curiously as he left. Puck walked her up here? He thought they had just run into each other at the door or something…

He wasn't quite sure how to feel about that.


	19. Even Though Love Can Start A Spark

Quinn had been out of class briefly to use the girls toilet a few days before the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor match. The day was almost over and she was very ready to call it a day. Pointed stares at her bulging belly were finally starting to look elsewhere, but there were not-as-bright people who hadn't quite picked up the news that Quinn Fabray had been knocked up, so there were still a few eyes trained on her throughout the course of the day.

She left the stall to go wash her hands. Once she reached the sink, however, she heard a strange sloshing noise behind her from one of the stalls. Quinn had believed she was the only one in the bathroom so she turned around to see who was there.

A ghost girl had drifted through the stall door and her translucent eyes widened with excitement as she saw Quinn. Quinn wasn't as happy to see her.

"Hello, Myrtle." she said with a half-amused voice as she turned back to the sink and started washing her hands.

"Quinn Fabray, I have absolutely dreadful news for you!" she squealed in delight, apparently favoring the anticipation of telling her whatever it was. Quinn prepared herself for a long and annoying rant with a little eye roll.

"Draco Malfoy's nearly been murdered!" she said, a sort of strange viciousness in her tone.

"What?" Quinn said in a numb way, staring at Myrtle with a blank, disbelieving expression. Draco? Murdered? Part of her knew that there was no way that could be true because no one would try to murder him, but Myrtle had absolutely no reason to lie.

"Draco Malfoy was violently attacked by Harry Potter! I saw it with my own eyes!" she said excitedly. Waves of realization were starting to crash over him and static noise filled her ears. She didn't know how to react. So much of her didn't ever want to believe it, but she had to be sure.

"Is he at the hospital wing?" she whispered. Myrtle nodded. She dashed from the room, but slowed down almost right away because of her bulging belly, her whole pregnant condition slowing her down. But she moved as fast as she could to the hospital wing, not knowing what to find or expect. She didn't even know what Myrtle meant by "violently attack".

She arrived at the hospital wing near hysterics and out of breath. She walked into the wing and immediately located Draco lying in bed. She hurried over to him, looking at him with concern. He was laying down, looking white in the face and shaky. There was a scar across his face, obviously in the process of healing. Madam Pomfrey, who was bustling around near her cabinet of medicines, saw Quinn was there she hurried over and said "I'm sorry dear, but you can't be in here. He needs rest and relaxation, he want though a serious affair, and-"

"I don't care." Quinn said viciously. Madam Pomfrey narrowed her eyes.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I really must insist." she said in a way that said she really didn't fancy Quinn's disrespectful tone. Draco's eyes were darting between them, he really had no desire to get into an impending argument.

"Listen, I just want to sit down and see my boyfriend." she said, and Madam Pomfrey, who was not an overly aggressive woman, just sighed.

"Fine, you get twenty minutes." she said in a defeated sort of way and Quinn nearly collapsed into the chair next to Draco's bed and grabbed his hand that was nearest to her.

"Oh my God, what happened to you?" she asked, a bit of concern and a bit of anger and a bit of relief in her eyes and her tone of voice. Draco rested his head on his pillow and groaned.

"Harry Potter attacked me in the boys bathroom." he said viciously, looking up at the ceiling. Quinn snarled, hating Harry Potter.

"But why would he do that? What were you doing?" she asked, her voice annoying and invasive. Draco didn't mind though, he just dished and looked back at her.

"I wasn't doing anything." he said, omitting the part about him crying over the cabinet, Myrtle, and the face that he had started the fight in the first place. But what did it matter who started it when Harry put him in the hospital wing?

"You fought back, didn't you?" Quinn asked, gently squeezing Draco's hand. He looked down at it without any particular emotion on his face, then looked back up the the ceiling.

"Of course I did, you know me, Quinn." he said quietly, and Quinn nodded.

"I want you to know that I'm very proud of you." she said quietly, leaning down and kissing his forehead. Draco smiled and his heart pounded a bit. He never got over the way Quinn touched him. It was slow and sweet and nice. He grew used to it, but it never failed to make him smile, even if it was just a little bit.

"Quinn?" he asked, once she pulled away. She nodded, silently asking him to carry on. He looked up at the ceiling in an uncomfortable way. He wasn't really sure how to stage this question. He hardly knew how her mind worked, and she was offended at very small things lately.

"Well… Do you expect me to raise a child with you?" he asked, in a way entirely too arrogant sounding for the situation. She looked at him in an odd way, head cocked to one side, mouth slightly open, eyebrows raised just higher than usual.

Honestly, she kind of had. She expected her child to grow up with Draco as Daddy, because what else did she have? Who else? She didn't want to go crawling back to Puckerman, having to ask him to be the father of her baby after a rejection that he thought brutal. It would make her look weak and forgiving, and even though that's how she was feeling lately she didn't want to look it. And she didn't want to resort to using him when she had someone as good as Draco. She let him take her virginity in a slow beginning of school fling, but he was popular and she was popular and she really thought she loved him, she thought it was real… But Quinn didn't know what she was thinking. She wasn't going to let him take anything else from her.

But Draco sounded like he didn't want to raise a baby. She took a good, long second look at him. He was a white faced, judgmental boy looking up at her with an expression of harsh, unwilling dignity in a hospital bed, put there in a moment of vulnerability. How could she have expected any boy of just sixteen to deal with her and her baby?

"No. No, I don't expect you to. I don't want it, you know that."

Draco scowled.

"I wish you would stop calling her 'it'. She's a girl, Quinn." He looked at the wall opposite him in a stubborn, angry way. She looked at him again, trying to figure out if he wanted to have the baby. He certainly just made it sound like it… As opposed to just a minute before. Quinn wished he would stop sending mixed signals.

"Do you even want to have this baby?" she asked, sounding as stubborn as his glare. He turned to look at her.

"I don't know! I don't know a thing about raising a baby, I can hardly take care of myself." he nearly snarled at her. That damn cabinet, Crabbe and Goyle, being a Death Eater and his damn requirements, and no one to tell. Now she wanted him to take care of a baby? And God, what if he let himself _want _that?

"Ok, let's just not talk about this. You are in the hospital wing and I'm stressing you out." she said with a vain-looking toss of her blonde hair over her shoulder, regaining her composure and pretending nothing had just happened. She was obviously trying to be considerate of him, but Draco wasn't sure how to interpret her actions. Was she just trying to make the problems vanish by ignoring them?

It was time to change the subject.

"Say we did decide to raise her together. What do you think you would name her?"

He meant it as a lighthearted question as a distraction to their problems, but then they both dived headfirst into the seriousness of naming a baby. Giving someone a name is like labeling them, they have to grow into their name, live up to it. Naming was a very serious business.

"I don't know… I've always liked Beth…" Quinn mumbled. Draco actually snorted.

"That's kind of a muggle name, don't you think?" he asked skeptically. She looked at him in disdain. "What does it matter?" she asked in a very annoyed way. He rolled his eyes, grinning.

"Well, it's not something her friends will be able to give her a nickname for. And it just sounds like a name for old muggle women with too many cats."

"Ok, fine. What do you think, Mr. Fancy-Name?" Quinn asked, poking him in the chest. He gave a chuckle.

"I like Regina. Or Celeste."

"Barbra."

"Helena."

"Josie."

"Angela."

"Bonnie."

"Oh, you know what I'm really fond of? Isabella. We could kind of… Indirectly be naming her after my aunt. And it's a pretty name."

"Wait, your aunt the Death Eater?" Quinn asked with a bit of disgust in her voice. Draco didn't like the implication that Death Eaters were bad, and cringed a bit.

"You know, she was a rather lovely person when I was about two."

"How do you even remember that?"

They both laughed just a bit.

"You know, I like that one, actually. Isabella Malfoy. It's cute, and kind of grown up. She'll like it." Quinn said with a smile. Draco raised his finger as if to correct her.

"Wait." he said. "Isabella Quinn Malfoy. That's better."

She nearly melted at those words, and fell face first farther in love with Draco Malfoy than ever.

Madam Pomfrey gave them more time than she had promised, but had to make Quinn leave eventually. Lessons were over, and dinner had started. She didn't want to walk into the already packed Great Hall alone and face people like Pansy Parkinson and Rachel Berry who would be absolutely begging for details about Draco. She was ravenous, however, and decided to go down to the kitchens to eat with the house elves. She hadn't visited them in a long time.

She was making her way down the halls when she saw someone wandering by themselves. She looked closer and saw the stooped form of Harry Potter slouching around the halls, looking downtrodden.

Every single fiber of beer being told her not to get involved with him, but her heart disagreed and dragged her over to him.

"Harry Potter." she said in a calm way as she walked over to him with an unnatural amount of swagger for someone well into pregnancy. He looked up when he saw her, and she could see him struggling to recognize her.

"Hey…?" he said, clearly asking for her name.

"Quinn Fabray." she said, trying to wear her name like a crown like she used to. It felt somehow dented and abused now.

"Oh, Quinn." he said, still not recognizing her particularly well and trying not to show it. She nodded.

"I want you to answer something for me." she said, poison seeping into her honey-sweet and polite voice, her threat shining in her eyes. He looked a bit more alert.

"Go ahead." he said glumly, unconsciously preparing for a battle.

"Tell me why you would attack an innocent person." she said, still as polite as ever. Annoyance grabbed at his features.

"Elaborate, please." he asked.

"Today you put my boyfriend in the hospital wing. Now, I want to know what made you think that would be a good idea. What sort of deranged thought passed through your head, telling you it was a good idea to slice him open. Did you give the slightest thought to the fact that he's soon going to be a father, or that he has a life and responsibilities outside of being cut up like some sort of cow?" she asked, still eerily cheery in her tone, slowly spoiling. Harry looked very annoyed then.

"Listen, I didn't mean to do anything I did. I had never used that spell before, I just read it somewhere. And for the record, he attacked me first." Harry said. Anger was boiling inside Quinn.

"It doesn't matter if you meant it if you seriously hurt someone anyway. And what kind of idiot just goes around using random spells? Imagine who you could have used that on by accident in any other situation!" she said, eyes wide.

Harry remembered his brief thoughts about using Sectumsempra on McLaggen if he ever approached Harry, and hated Quinn for reminding him. He did feel bad about hurting Draco, but her blowing up on him was just making him angry.

"I have, actually. And I'm sorry I hurt your boyfriend, but it's already happened and I really had no idea what was happening. I was just trying to protect myself." he said angrily.

"Oh my God, you're taking this way to casually! You could have killed him, thank God Snape was there!" she said. Harry just stared.

"I'm sorry Quinn, but you just need to calm down." he said, feeling as though he had finally won over her because of her brief pause, looking a bit hysterical.

But then her open palm hit hard against his right cheek, and as soon as Quinn hit him it hit her that it was the wrong thing to do. Maybe she did need to calm down, maybe she was overreacting. Oh God, she just hit Harry Potter right in the face. He looked back at her angrily, halfway in shock.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked, almost yelling. There was an angry, red mark against his face.

"I'm going to dinner." she said firmly, and walked away as fast as she could towards the kitchens.

Artie would be the first to admit, his life wasn't very exciting. The high points were getting in a car crash and finding out he was a wizard. But one the repercussions of those events were dealt with, nothing much had happened. He sang, he talked, he made friends. He got girlfriends even, after much trial and error finding out what girls like. He wasn't spectacular at anything, he wasn't very good at standing out in a crowd. He was just Artie Abrams, and he liked it that way. The lack of drama and confusion in his life was what made it casual and happy. He didn't care much for leading his life another way.

But ever since he met Luna, things started to get a bit strange. Probably not interesting to anyone who couldn't be inside his head, he thought, but still odd. He fell in love with someone while he was dating another girl, for starters. That had never happened before, and it was a jumble of mixed emotions. It was like taking a bite of sugar-loaded passion fruit, letting the tastes of salty, sweet, and sour roll over his tongue, whipping his senses into shape, then slowly sneaking away to a dark store cupboard to eat a bit of low, mellow dark chocolate, letting the new sensations numb his tongue and ease him away from the passion fruit's stigma.

He had never wanted the balance of two girls more, the bonfire and then the candle flame. It was strange, and he felt like a jerk for wanting both girls at once.

His apathetic feeling breakup with Ginny hadn't left him too dented. She dealt with it so easily, so gracefully, it was hard to believe they had even broken up at all. They treated each other with the same respect as usual and she hadn't taken the time to build up the awkward tension between them like most other girls would.

But once he had Luna, everything flashed bright for a second them dimmed. His triumphant success, the passion he felt after winning her over was made dull by the fact that their normal-day adventures became tangled up within each other, and there didn't seem like too much to explore. Luna was no longer a vague mystery, she was his, and the lovely aura of surprise around her dimmed.

But he loved her, and that he knew. He loved Luna Lovegood, and he knew she loved him too. She was adorable, and she could cheer him up when no one else could. He thought he was lucky to have her every day, and he wanted to show her that whenever he could. But he thought dating Luna would be thrilling. It wasn't. It was just her first time in a relationship and she was dealing with the first emotions maddeningly slowly, savoring them, making sure she knew what she was doing.

Ginny's passion was gone from his life, and the polar difference was a strange thing to deal with.

But thinking everything over, the changes in his life, the way he felt, everything, he decided it was time to fix his legs. He no longer wanted to be dragged down by them, having them represent the held-back feelings he dove too far into with his relationships. He didn't want one more thing to deal with. He was ready to be happy, normal Artie. He was ready to stop being known as the kid in the wheelchair. And he couldn't stop thinking about the night Luna took him to see Professor Dumbledore. She had inspired him to stay the way he was, and now she was inspiring him to change himself. It was all for the better.

He rolled up to her the day before the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor match during lunch, oddly calm, ready to tell her he had made his decision about fixing his legs. Dave was sitting next to her, as usual.

"Hey Artie." he said with a little grin when he spotted him. It would have been much more charming if he didn't have food in his mouth, and so he returned to his plate. The sight of Dave being so casual calmed him down even more. He wasn't particularly close friends with Dave, but Artie found something about the boy's calm outlook soothing in general.

"Hey." he said as he pulled up next to Luna, who smiled widely at him.

"Hello, Artie." she said. She leaned down and kissed his forehead, further extending her hello.

"Hey Luna." he said with a little smile at her. "Listen, I've decided something…"

She looked at him in mild curiosity, radish earrings in place and wand behind her ear, bottle cap necklace around her neck, head tilted to one side, just a bit. God, he loved her.

"I want to get my legs fixed by Madam Pomfrey. Tonight, if she can do it. And I just thought you should know." he said formally, giving her a little nod when he finished. There was a long pause when Luna seemed to be considering the news, and Dave just peered around her, waiting for her reaction as well.

"Well, I'm very proud of you for making that decision." she said casually, turning back to her salad. There was a little smile on her face as she did it, and when Dave saw he gave Artie a smile.

Artie felt very firm in his decision after that.

The day seemed to drag by slowly until the Ravenclaws last class, History of Magic. It seemed to pass in about five minutes, and Artie's anticipation was building tremendously. He was going to go and get his legs fixed. The thought was almost too big to wrap his head around. He would be able to walk again, and dance. He could play tag. He could run. He could jump. He could teach himself to fly, or do back handsprings. He could pick Luna up and twirl her around in the air. She would laugh and lean down and kiss him, and it would be amazing.

Luna took his hand as they left the room, Dave in tow, and headed for the hospital wing. Students were flooding the corridors, and they ran into Santana and Brittany.

"Hey. Where you headed?" Santana asked, falling into step with them right away. Brittany waved at Luna, who waved back cheerfully.

"The hospital wing." Dave said, staring at the back of Artie's head.

"Shit, what's Loony done to Stubbles this time?" she asked. Artie suspected those names might be offensive if she didn't say them with an affectionate undertone.

"That won't be my nickname after tonight." Artie said with a little grin.

"You're finally getting your legs fixed? Wait… Will that hurt?" Brittany asked, looking at Artie for the answer.

"We don't know yet. But yes, I'm getting my legs fixed."

"Hope you don't mind us coming." Santana said.

Their entire pace sped up, matching the sudden excitement level in the group. They were at the hospital wing in no time, and came in just as Madam Pomfrey was checking out a pale, blonde Slytherin boy, his equally pale and blonde and very pregnant girlfriend by his side. They exited the wing, and Santana gave them a little wave. The girl's exit got a long look from Santana and Brittany stifled a giggle, Dave rolled his eyes. Luna and Artie ignored them completely, and rolled her boyfriend right up to Madam Pomfrey.

Santana, Brittany, and Dave watched them exchange a few words, Madam Pomfrey getting a very set, determined look on her face. Artie was gazing up at her, looking a little more nervous than before but still confident in his decision. Luna's bulbous eyes were darting from Pomfrey to Artie, her one of her hands still clutching a handle on his wheelchair.

Madam Pomfrey turned around and gently took Luna's shoulder and directed her over to her three staring friends.

"I'm going to have to ask all of you to leave. Fixing Mr. Abrams legs wont be too extremely difficult, but because of the time he chose not to spend years using them, I daresay I'll need to work on him even more after that."

Luna nodded and turned to leave right away. Brittany reached out and snagged her hand, entwining their fingers and followed to the exit. Santana's hand made a twitching, near darting motion as if she wanted to grab Brittany's hand, but instead she chose just to walk out stiffly right in front of Dave. Artie watched them go with a little lump in his throat, hoping they would just stay outside and wait for him to be done.

Once they were outside, Luna slid down against the wall right next to the door. The others were all still walking, looking as though they wanted to head somewhere else. But the look in Luna's eyes made them turn around and sit down next to her.

"I've got so much homework to do…" Santana groaned, leaning against Dave's shoulder and relaxing. Dave looked at her in a rather judgmental way, she knew he didn't like it when people leaned up against him. It meant he couldn't move until they did, but Santana stayed there anyway.

"I was doing my homework in the bathtub, but then I tried to water-proof my books and papers so I could do them underwater. I thought I did it right, but I just drowned all my work…" Brittany said. Luna looked at her curiously.

"This would be a very unusual circumstance, but I think Brittany attracts Nargles." Luna said serenely. Dave laughed, not trying too particularly hard to stifle the noise. Santana rolled her eyes.

An hour passed, and no real conversation was being made. Luna's thoughts were with Artie, who was just a wall away from her. And although she was usually very quiet, her ability to pay attention was astounding and without her concentration holding the mumblings together and making them real conversation, the attempts trailed off. Everyone was tired and hungry anyways, so it didn't really help the overall apathy about the current situations.

Santana and Brittany liked Artie well enough, but they never really got to know him. They were friends, but not close friends, and rather than wondering what was going on in the hospital wing, they were wondering how Luna must have been feeling about everything going on.

However, since Luna seemed not to want to wait alone, her three friends stayed with her and gave her cheerful and sympathetic smiles whenever she looked up at them, Brittanys were noticeably more gleeful than Santana's. But Luna found the most comfort in Dave's. She had always felt like her connection with him was more than just a school friendship and though they didn't walk as much now he was hanging around Kurt more, she still knew he would be there for her in times like this and she would try her best to be there for him whenever he needed it. Rather then being based upon common interests or annoyances, their friendship was based on the true building blocks of healthy relationships and she loved knowing she had something like that to turn to when she was feeling anxious.

Another thirty minutes later in the hospital wing and Artie looked anxiously down at the folded up wheelchair on the other side of his bed. Madam Pomfrey had other patients to attend to, but she said he would be able to feel the sensation return to his legs any minute.

The anticipation was consuming him whole. What would it feel like? Like his fingers, he suspected. But no matter what he suspected, he was still excited to regain the feeling. The sensations. He would be able to walk around barefoot, feel the grass between his toes, dash across sandy beaches. Even stepping on a thumbtack would be acceptable, because at least it would be a reminder that he was able to feel again.

A strange tingling started in his hips just then and his heart slammed ferociously against his chest, getting ready to feel again. The sensation spread like a sheet being slowly pulled over his legs, making them feel warm and relaxed. He stared down at the mountains his legs were making under the bedsheets, grinning. He adjusted his glasses, as if he had a chance to see the feeling.

Madam Pomfrey went across the room and opened the doors for Luna, Santana, Brittany, and Dave. They walked in and looked for him eagerly, rushed over when they saw where he was.

"Guys, I can feel my legs again…" he said hoarsely, looking down his body.

"Try to move." Dave said after a brief pause. Artie looked nervous as he slowly curled the tips of his toes under his sheets, and he nearly burst out laughing he was so happy. He slowly rolled his ankles around, and slow smiles spread on his friends faces when they saw him moving. Artie slowly pulled his legs up, sliding his feet down the bed and watching his knees bend.

"Satisfied?" said Madam Pomfrey happily as she walked by again. "I'll be keeping you here for tonight so you can adjust and I'll let you walk about a bit later. You'll be ready to leave by tomorrow." she said before turning away again. Artie looked up at Luna, who had the most happy, awestruck look on her face.

He slowly slid himself around so that his legs were dangling off the side of the bed and he was clutching the edge of the bed for support. The friends collectively held their breath.

With slightly shaky legs and a firm grip on the bed, Artie hoisted himself up. He looked extremely determined. He walked a few steps, the sound echoing around the hospital wing. He moved like an old man, stiff and slow. But he was moving, and that was good enough for him. He walked over to Luna, tripping a bit on the last step and collapsing into her arms.

They both started laughing as she held him up with her hug.

"I'm so happy for you." Luna whispered in his ear, and Artie leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, his heart swelling with joy.


	20. Even Though Love Requires some Courage

The day of the final quidditch match of the season had arrived, Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor. The sun was streaming down in golden shafts outside the castle walls and nearly the entire student population would be trooping down to the quidditch pitch to watch the event. Everyone knew Harry Potter wouldn't be playing for Gryffindor because of some detentions, and no one knew how that would impact the team except the team itself.

Dave was at the breakfast table, eating more than he really needed to. Many players lost their appetite to nerves right before a game, but Dave found that when he was nervous he ate a lot more.

"Are you nervous?" Luna asked, looking up at Dave in his quidditch robes. He shook his head. He was a bit nervous, but maybe if he shook his head then he could convince himself otherwise.

"Daddy's actually found a new type of root to help with nerves. No one's ever found it before, and he's calling it-"

"Hey baby, did you finish your Transfiguration work?" Artie asked suddenly, distracting her before she could go on one of her tangents about imaginary organisms. They both pulled out their work and Dave mouthed "Thank you" over Luna's turned shoulder. Artie gave him a brief wink before starting to talk to Luna.

A few minutes later he stood up with the rest of his team to head down to the pitch. Before he could take ten good steps, however, Kurt was at his arm, looking more cheerful than usual.

"I hope you don't mind me walking with you." he said, looking up at Dave.

"Course I don't." he said with a little grin. Kurt nodded and slipped his arm through Dave's. Dave looked down at their entwined arms, a bit surprised and embarrassed. They were in the middle of the Great Hall, didn't Kurt understand that? It didn't seem like it, he was pulling Dave along behind him and still looking cheery. He looked around to see if anyone was looking at them and sure enough, Blaine was. His expression was a bit confused, and a bit annoyed, and just slightly betrayed. His eyes followed them out the huge wooden doors, overanalyzing their every step.

A bit of Dave liked it, in some strange way, and part of him just wanted to be out of the Hall before many more people saw them.

"You're cheer today." he said to Kurt once they were away from the school's eyes. Kurt nodded.

"I just woke up on the right side of the bed today, I guess." he said with a little shrug, a certain happy glow about him. Dave was sure something was going on. Kurt usually worked for his happiness, and he was usually suspicious when it just appeared.

"You sure nothing happened to, y'know, set this off?" he asked, incredibly distracted by the way Kurt was rubbing his arm. Kurt shrugged again.

"Really, it's nothing. Nothing at all." he said.

"Well, I like it." Dave said with a little grin. Kurt positively beamed.

"I'm glad, it rally is an improvement. I just feel great." he said, now giving Dave reason to believe Kurt rubbing his arm wasn't just an accident or Kurt shifting.

"It's actually very nice out today. Nice conditions, right? I don't know very much about quidditch…" he said, looking around at the spectacularly lit grounds, over the forrest, down the hill to the pitch. Dave nodded.

"Yeah, these are good conditions… Have you heard Harry Potter isn't playing for Gryffindor today? He got some detentions with Snape."

Kurt snorted and playfully hit Dave's arm. "Of course I've heard, silly!" he said, apparently thinking it was just about the funniest thing in the world. Dave stared at him, open mouthed. He thought he would be eaten alive by a pygmy puff before he saw Kurt acting like he was just then. Could he be drunk? Dave certainly didn't like this Kurt more than the normal Kurt, but it was nice to see him so… bubbly. It was interesting. And he was certainly being more touchy-feely, and Dave was thankful for that. As long as no one was around, then he would actually have preferred Kurt just did whatever came to mind. But he had to focus on quidditch, he reminded himself.

"You know what? There's a lot of things in this world to be sad about, and get mad about, but sometimes it's nice to just forget everything and be happy." Kurt said, leaning gently against Dave's big shoulder as they finished their walk down to the pitch. Dave nodded, smiling lovingly at Kurt.

Dave thought he was perfect, and no truer words had ever been spoken.

Kurt pulled himself away from Dave once they reached the pitch.

"So… I'll see you later I guess…" Dave said as Cho Chang walked past and into the changing rooms. Kurt nodded, then he bounced up on the balls of his feet and kissed Dave on the cheek, his hands clothing Dave's shoulders to temporarily hold him up. Dave's face flushed bright red when Kurt pulled away again, and he wasn't sure whether to smile or not.

"I'll see you later, Dave." Kurt said with a little smile and tilt of the head. Dave looked after him as he went to go grab himself a seat, a mystified look on his face.

If straight boys thought dealing with girls was hard, Dave thought they should try being desperately in love with Kurt Hummel.

That morning, just before he got out of bed, Kurt remembered something. A small vial of something, hiding at the bottom of his trunk. When he was pulling out a pair of socks, he had found his stolen felix felicis.

He spent a good three minutes staring at it, holding the metallic, shimmering golden liquid up to his eyes so he could examine it.

It was nearly the end of the year, and he hadn't used the potion yet. He didn't really have a need to, and he didn't want to use it during exams. Kurt was almost positive that was cheating. There was no reason for him not to drink a bit of it, just to see how it worked and what it was like. Then the rest could be for a special occasion. He promised himself that today would be the only impromptu-lucky-potion day.

He drank just enough to cover his day through the quidditch match and a few hours afterwards. It didn't take long for the feeling of achievement kicked in, the sure feeling that he could trust his gut and knew exactly what he was doing.

He got dressed and marched down to breakfast with Rachel and Santana at his sides. Luckily enough, they were in a little squabble about the importance of singing and didn't notice the changes in Kurt's personality. He didn't walk much during breakfast.

But what he did do was keep his eyes on the Ravenclaw table. Dave was sitting there, and Kurt knew he was playing today. He didn't know why, he didn't even feel particularly attracted to him at that moment, but he just wanted to walk with Dave. There was no good reason for it, he just wanted to. He knew it would make him happy.

Once he and Dave had walked down, seeing Dave's reaction to being kissed on the cheek was very amusing and adorable, Kurt thought at least. He looked intimidating, but Dave was just a big teddy bear. He walked off to the near empty stands and saw the masses of people start to spill out of the castle and flow down to the pitch.

He was really looking forward to watching Dave play.

Santana and Rachel, soon followed by Quinn, squeezed between knees and the back of seats to reach Kurt and the seats he saved for them. They were decked out in rosettes and green scarves, twirling little Slytherin flags in their hands.

"Quidditch decorations are _so _tacky." Kurt scoffed, but instead of his usual cynicism there was a definite undertone of teasing there. The girls shrugged as the stands started to fill up. Draco Malfoy inched over to Quinn a few minutes later, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. Kurt waved at him, and he just raised an eyebrow, giving a pathetic, sarcastic little wave back. Kurt and Draco usually didn't pay too much attention to each other.

A few minutes later the players trooped onto the pitch, red robed figures facing blue robed figures with Madam Hooch in the middle, holding the case containing the balls and her whistle. The crowd looked on eagerly as usual, a few people already whooping and cheering. The Slytherin population was eyeing the Ravenclaws as if to say "You had better beat them". None of them wanted to see Gryffindor win.

The players mounted their brooms and the Keepers flew off to their positions in front of the goal posts. Madam Pomfrey released the Snitch, Bludgers, and Quaffle and the game began, the players speeding off and looking like red and blue streaks in the air for brief seconds at a time.

Kurt kept his eyes trained on Dave. He had never payed much attention to the way he played before out of lack of interest about quidditch in general, but now he was just curious. He hovered in front of the Ravenclaw goalposts and surveyed the game with keen eyes. The players zoomed towards him, a Gryffindor chaser with the Quaffle in her hand quickly followed by other players from both teams. She made to score, but Dave blocked her with ease. The Ravenclaws roared with pride and Kurt bounced a bit in his seat, beaming at Dave.

Both Seekers, Ginny Weasley and Cho Chang, were circling the match and looking out with keen eyes for a tiny golden flicker that could signify the presence of the Snitch.

The players were soon at the other end of the pitch and a Ravenclaw chaser absolutely hurled the Quaffle at the Gryffindor posts, and Ron Weasley fumbled and let the ball slip in, it was at the edge of his gloved fingertips. More cheers erupted. Draco let out a bark of laughter.

"Weasley's always been a pathetic Keeper. Every goal he's saved had been pure luck." he said, and Quinn nodded apathetically, her eyes still on the match.

"I agree, his skills could use some polishing. What he needs is to be more sure of himself, he would have saves that goal if he didn't think he was doing something wrong." Rachel said in a know-it-all way.

"This is going to be a good game. It looks like it's going to be long though… Both of the teams are moving faster than Finn and Puck towards an All-You-Can-Eat buffet. How can they see?" Kurt said, squinting his eyes and leaning forward.

As the game went on, it seemed as though Ron was regaining his confidence. After seven more goals by the Ravenclaw team (countered by quite a few brilliant scores from the Gryffindor team), Ron seemed to be gripped by a fierce confidence. The Slytherins certainly noticed, but said nothing of it, hoping the Ravenclaws would knock it out of him.

Watching the Gryffondor team grow exceedingly stronger, Dave confidence seemed to be going down. He was letting more and more in, and despair gripped Kurt like it never had before about a sport. It was probably the lucky potion gripping him, but he felt invested in the game. Gryffindor kept scoring, and anger and disbelief were written over the Slytherin and Ravenclaw's faces as the game went on.

The chasers on both teams were spectacular, no one could deny that. The teams seemed to be each other's equal, but somehow Gryffindor's score kept rising.

"Oh, come on, Dave!" Kurt actually cried out at one point, and Draco looked at him in mild annoyance and confusion, and Rachel looked at him with a mix of looks that read "Wow, I didn't know you cared" and "You like Dave a lot, don't you Kurt?"

Kurt responded to neither Draco nor Hermione's glances, but sank back down in his seat. He hadn't even noticed he had jumped up.

Just two minutes later, a familiar frame was winding it's way over knees and between seats, towards their group. A voice Kurt recognized was politely saying "Excuse me, pardon me." every time he accidentally stepped on a toe or hit a shoulder. Blaine Anderson, the biggest Gryffindor there was, was winding through a sea of Slytherins and towards Kurt. Kurt looked at him with an expression of surprise.

Draco saw him and slyly stuck out his foot as Blaine passed. Blaine tripped over Draco's foot, not looking at where his feet were stepping. Rachel automatically leaned forwards and shot out her arms, grabbing the seat behind her and quickly forming a little bridge for Blaine's chest to land on.

"Thanks Rachel, I owe you one." Blaine said as he straightened up and gave her a huge, almost cheesy smile. She nodded and pulled her knees in so Blaine could pass and sit in the conveniently empty seat next to Kurt.

"Blaine! What are you doing over here?" Kurt asked, cheerful enough to make Draco roll his eyes dramatically, earning himself a nudge in the ribs from Quinn.

"I wanted to watch the game with you!" he said brightly. Kurt smiled, he didn't know what to say to that, but he certainly didn't mind it. He looked over at his friends.

Rachel was in her seat, trying not to giggle at them, looking more stiff than usual. Quinn was staring at the game, looking like she really didn't care about anything at all that was going on. Kurt could practically see the gears pumping in Draco's mind, churning out judgmental comments he was thankfully keeping to himself. Blaine peered around Kurt's shoulder to see what Kurt was looking at. Kurt turned around and gently nudged Blaine until he was facing forward again. Kurt just thought it would be for the best if Blaine wasn't being concerned with Slytherin's opinions of him popping out of nowhere.

A few more minutes passed in tense silence, and a Gryffindor chaser scored against Ravenclaw yet again.

"Yes!" Blaine said, fist-pumping the air. He got a lot of angry glares, and Kurt, or the felix felicis rather, grabbed his hand and pulled it down.

"Nonono honey, you're in the middle of a pack of people who hate what you're cheering for. So don't cheer." Kurt said as if instructing a seven year old, but his hands stayed wrapped around Blaine's.

"Kurt, if you're asking me to suppress my Gryffindor pride, I-" he began half-jokingly and dramatically, but Kurt cut him off.

"Yes, I am. And unless you want twenty different hexes flying at you in the next thirty seconds, you'll listen to me." he said sweetly, gently squeezing Blaine's hand and giving him the "I'm sorry but you brought this onto yourself" look. Blaine fake sulked and made a pouty face. Draco pretended to throw up.

Kurt was very aware of Blaine's hand in his. The way they had been clasped awkwardly around each other but Blaine had slowly undone their fingers and re-laced them, making it comfortable. How incredibly warm he was. How his head was just about spinning.

"When did Gryffindor get so good?" Quinn said, looking at the pitch in confusion as the Gryffindors scored once again. Kurt looked on and frowned. He would have liked to have seen Dave's face, lit up with pure joy as he held the quidditch cup…

That would have been perfectly lovely. But by the look of the scoreboard, things weren't going the Ravenclaws way. The score was three hundred to one hundred and forty in favor of Gryffindor. Draco was looking more and more sour as time went on and he was glaring at the pitch, his angry expression really defining how sick he looked, the bags under his eyes were prominent and the sunlight his his pale face.

"I was sure Gryffindor would win without Potter there to grab the snitch as soon as it was let out of the box." he said angrily.

Blaine twitched in his seat, stifling his urge to say something to Draco. Kurt saw it and squeezed Blaine's hand hard, trying to communicate that he really didn't want to go against Draco during quidditch. Blaine calmed down noticeably after Kurt gave him his little signal, and Kurt self confidence soared.

"Look, look!" Rachel said dramatically, pointing at the pitch with a quivering finger. Everyone's eyes snapped to the stadium. Ginny Weasley had soared straight up in the air, her red hair flying backwards. She was almost perpendicular to the ground. Cho Chang sped after her, her broom starting to catch up with Ginnys. When Cho was only a minute away from catching up, Ginny turned sharply and dived right down/ The entire stadium was on the edge of their seats, eagerly observing Ginnys tactics. She dived down for ten seconds before halting suddenly, the Snitch glittering in her hand. Half of the stadium burst into wild applause, screaming and shouting. The Slytherins and Ravenclaws slumped back in their seats, groaning in defeat. Some bold people even shouted angrily at the celebrating Gryffindors, but their annoyance couldn't dent the Gryffindor's happiness.

Kurt looked over at Blaine, and he was squirming in his seat. Kurt saw him stifling a smile, and he felt the felix felicis direct him.

He took Blaine's hand and stood up, pulling Blaine with him. He looked down at his glum friends and said "Puppy here needs a walk. I'll see you back in the common room tonight."

Rachel nodded at him and Blaine and Kurt joined the throngs of people moving to exit the stadium and either go to parties or homework sessions. Once they were safely out of the way of the Slytherins, Blaine exploded.

"We won! We won, oh God, Kurt, we won!" he yelled, pouncing into Kurt's arms. Kurt laughed out loud and caught Blaine on instinct, twirling him a bit before letting him safely back down on the ground.

"Easy there, tiger, save it for when we're inside." Kurt said with a little laugh as he straightened his Slytherin scarf.

"Oh whatever, you totally just played along with that. It's a good thing you're not a big fan of quidditch, or our relationship would be falling apart right now." Blaine said with a little chuckle. Kurt nodded.

"_You_ were falling apart back there." he said teasingly. Blaine rolled his eyes. "I wish I got a picture of your face. It was hilarious."

"Be quiet! I was excited." Blaine said, an obvious spring in his steps as the sounds of the screaming Gryffindors trailed back to them.

"Looks like you still are, to me." Kurt said, nudging Blaine in the ribs. Blaine laughed.

Kurt suddenly remembered Dave, and how he meant to go talk to him again after the game. He really wanted to, felix was telling him it was right.

"Blaine, I have to go talk to someone. Is there anywhere you want to go meet up in a little while?" he asked kindly.

"Can I just come with you?" Blaine asked eagerly. Kurt considered for a second before nodding. There was no reason that Blaine shouldn't.

Kurt started walking towards the Ravenclaw changing rooms and Blaine followed, looking ahead of them curiously.

"Wait out here." Kurt said as they reached the door. Blaine nodded and leaned up against the wall, tapping his foot and smiling to himself. Kurt rapped his knuckles on the wood a couple of times before strolling in.

The mood in the changing room was grim as everyone was finishing up getting back in their normal robes. Cho Chang was sniffling and everyone looked disappointed and downtrodden. Kurt almost wanted to just turn around and leave, but he didn't. He was going to find Dave first.

Dave was tightening his belt in a corner, looking incredibly angry with himself. Kurt walked over to him, looking up at him cautiously.

"Hey Dave. Good game." he said gently as he strolled up to Dave. Dave let out a humorless laugh.

"Hah, good game. We lost." he said bitterly. Kurt shrugged.

"That doesn't mean you weren't fabulous." he said. Dave looked down at him, looking a little more pleased but not very much.

"I just wanted to tell you that you did marvelous, and no one could believe Gryffindor would beat you. Not on my end of the pitch anyways." he said, smiling up at Dave, who managed a weak smile back.

"Now, I have to go, Blaine's waiting for me." Kurt said. The smile faded from Dave's face.

"Ok." he said, bitter sounding once again. Kurt scowled.

"Do you not like Blaine or something? Does he not like you?" Kurt asked, and Dave shrugged.

"If you guys are getting jealous over me, stop. I don't understand why you would do that, but Rachel and Quinn say that's what's going on and I don't like it." he said sternly.

"Ok…" Dave said, looking a little more surprised.

"So… I have to go. See you later." he said, cheering up an exceptional amount to say goodbye.

"Bye, Kurt." Dave said, and Kurt waved as he exited the room.

Why on Earth did everything Kurt did, from the tone of his voice to the way his hips swayed, make Dave fall even further in love with him?

Kurt walked back outside to Blaine, who without Kurt to talk to for a brief two minutes, had settled back into his post-game euphoria. He fell into step with Kurt as they made their way back up to the castle.

But something suddenly struck Kurt. If he had taken the felix felicis, then why didn't his quidditch team win? Technically, everything should be going his way. He had a babbling Gryffindor next to him who wouldn't shut up about "Ron's best save" or whatever it was… Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Kurt let him talk, nodding occasionally and saying "Yeah." and "Uh huh." every once in a while. Blaine was excited, and it was cute. Really cute, actually. Kurt's apathy about quidditch was settling in again, however, and he had to drone out Blaine's actual words and just focus on the way his face lit up.

It really was nice, seeing Blaine so happy about something. He usually tried to keep pretty serious about everything, but Kurt could tell he wanted to let loose every once in a while. With every little glance Blaine gave him to make sure he was paying attention, Kurt felt a little courage building up inside him. It was growing like a five year old's building block castle, and he was slowly gaining the confidence to tell Blaine something that had been nagging at him for a while.

Yes, he liked Blaine as more than a friend. He liked the way his head felt resting on Blaine's shoulder, he liked Blaine's voice, he liked the way their laughs sounded together, and he just liked Blaine. He would keep the fact he also liked Dave to himself, however Dave didn't seem ready to date Kurt. He seemed nervous, anxious, insecure, and secretive which apparently translated to anger. Yes, Kurt could deal with that with time and patience, but Dave didn't seem ready to deal with the Lady Gaga and the fashionista and the soprano and the straight out bluntness of Kurt's attitude and the attention they would get as a couple.

Kurt didn't want to think it, but Dave would have to wait, at least for a little while.

They reached the castle and Kurt pulled Blaine aside into an empty hallway.

"Blaine, I have something to say." he said, felix gripping him.

"Go ahead." Blaine said with a little nod. Kurt took a deep breath and said "I like you. As… More than a friend. And I think it's well on its way to turning into love for you. You are the most funny, charming, handsome boy I have ever met. Blaine Anderson, I am perfect for you and you are prefect for me."

A tense, emotionally heavy pause formed and they both looked edgy, as if they were about to start a race or catch a runaway cat. Both of their pairs of eyes were desperately searching into the others. Both of their faces were bright red.

"AndalsoI'mkindagladGryffindorwon." Kurt added quickly as an afterthought, and the tensity of the moment exploded and Blaine grabbed Kurt by the shoulders and kissed him, the hard, fast passion melted away into something much more gentle. Kurt and Blaine reached out for each others faces and held each other close, nearly melting into each other. The only sounds around them was their own inhaling from their nose to compensate for what their mouths were doing.

Kurt felt as though everything around him had dissolved into nothing but Blaine.

They pulled away from each other, staring at each other as if seeing each other for the first time, tangled up in each other.

"I like you too and I have to go hang out with the Gryffindors now I'll see you soon bye." Blaine said hurriedly and walked off to Gryffindor tower, leaving Kurt to feel the felix felicis start to wear off and to slump against the wall, laughing, at what he had just done.


	21. Even Though Love Can Be Shared

AN: I altered the course of events with Slughorn teaching a bit in this chapter. Be prepared, it's not the real HP storyline. I changed it to kind of make up for the fact that in one of the earlier chapters I wrote a scene where Snape was teaching potions on accident. So bear with me, thanks :)

Rachel had been very busy with the end of term exams coming. She was singing much more than usual, as well. After the match, she and Kurt were hanging out with Quinn and Draco a lot more, sometimes Santana as well. Santana was out of the common room most of the time however, off with Brittany Pierce. Actually, Kurt was darting in and out a lot more as well, sneaking off to the lake with Blaine. No one aside form Rachel liked that Kurt was dating a Gryffindor, but he had never been one to stifle his odd interests and everyone was pretty used to it at that point. Expect the unexpected.

One night, Kurt and Draco had both stormed off after an argument about male roles in society and had left Rachel and Quinn alone to think about how stupid men really were in silence. Quinn was writing in a little journal she wasn't letting anyone look at, and Rachel suspected she was writing done her feelings. Rachel was writing up a digram for Transfiguration on the proper wand movements for their latest learnings. Quinn had claimed she had already done all her homework, but Rachel doubted it. With Quinn due to give birth in the next few weeks, that was all that seemed to be on her and Draco's minds.

However, Draco was spending more and more time away, doing things no one knew about. He claimed he was going to the library, but no one wanted to check and prove him wrong. If he was lying, what was he doing? No one was more touchy about it than Quinn, who wanted his attention more than ever.

In reality, Draco was stealing away to work on the Vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement, the stress of everything going on causing him to nearly pull his hair out by the handful, and he would only admit to himself that he spent a few nights in bed broken down and crying silently into his pillow, hoping that Kurt couldn't hear him.

Quinn had a lot on her plate as well, and the last thing on her mind was Noah Puckerman. She didn't even know what she was going to do with Isabella once she was born, and she was actually trying to push the thought of Puckerman away. If she decided to keep Bella, she decided she would like to introduce her to Noah and let her know both her fathers. But the resentment that they all still had towards each other needed to end before that was possible and she knew her boys weren't ready to make up yet.

At least, she was ready to completely forget about him if it weren't for Rachel.

"Quinn?" Rachel asked, sounding a little less confident than usual.

"Yes?" Quinn asked, not looking up from her journal in which she was confiding how scared she was about the future. Her face was blank.

"I'm sorry if this is a sore spot for you and feel free not to answer me, but can you tell me what Noah Puckerman is like?"

Quinn closed her little book and looked up at Rachel, her face still eerily blank.

"Sure. He's arrogant and a bit manipulative, he knows what he wants but he's kind of a slacker, he's confident and annoying and persistent… But he's not a bad kid. He's pretty loyal and he stands up for the kids he's not bullying. He's a real Gryffindor." she said. Rachel nodded slowly.

"And how much time did you spend with him, you know, as-"

"We weren't ever a couple." Quinn cut across her. "But three weeks. You know how Proffesor Slughorn came in later than Dumbledore wanted him to?"

Rachel nodded again.

"It's because when Dumbledore couldn't get Harry to come in and persuade Slughorn to work here because of his muggle guardians or whatever, he used me. My parents work up pretty high in the Ministry and my mother is a potions maker. So Slughorn wasn't persuaded, and when word got out Dumbledore chose me for it, he started hanging around me trying to get more popular. That's when we slept together. But after a while he seemed to actually start to like me.

"You know, Slughorn was tracked down by the Death Eaters again after we came, and that's why he came back to teach, so he could get away. I could tell Puck liked me because he stuck around for a bit after Slughorn came back even."

Rachel smiled. "Good to know." she said cheerily, even though she had no use for the information. Quinn slumped over in her chair.

"I just took a huge rant. I'm sorry."

"No Quinn, it's perfectly fine! You know you can talk to me if you need to anytime, don't you?" Rachel asked, and Quinn nodded.

"Why the interest in Puckerman?" Quinn asked curiously, trying to steer the conversation away from her need to reach out and talk to people.

"Well, a while ago I met him in the halls at night, and he was a lot different than people make him out to be. He's been nicer to me after, too. Helping me in potions and all that. I don't think Kurt appreciates him coming over to our table, but either way." she said casually, trying to act dismissive.

"Rachel, do you have a crush on him?" Quinn asked with a small grin on her face.

"No! No." Rachel said. "I just find him very interesting. And I do admit, he would get my mind off Finn… I need to recognize that it's over between us, and it's time for me to move on."

"Good for you…" Quinn said, distracted again by picking at her cuticles.

"W-Would you approve of me dating Noah, if that ever were to happen?" Rachel asked.

"I wouldn't mind it. I think now, since I have Draco, he's free to do whatever he wants. And so are you, Rachel." Quinn said, looking up from her fingers. Rachel nodded, staring at the fireplace.

"Are you still all wrapped up in Finn?" Quinn asked, setting her journal down and looking over at Rachel, who was still averting her eyes.

"I don't know. I'm sure I still like him, he was the first person I ever fell in love with! And I feel awful for asking about Noah, we've only ever had a real, solid conversation once… Have you ever felt like you liked two boys at once?"

Quinn nodded. "Of course I have. Three this year actually, you should know that."

"Oh yeah, sorry."

"It's ok. It feels like a long time ago now. Well, it feels like everything happened fast, but it's so distant…"

"I know what you mean."

"But Rachel, if you're really having trouble with this boy thing, I would chose Puck. If you fell for him after Finn, a little part of you probably just wants him more. But that's just my say." she said quietly. Rachel nodded again.

Five seconds passed before Santana stormed up.

"There's something I have to tell you guys, since we hang a little." she said.

They both just looked at her curiously.

"I'm a lesbian." she said, obviously expecting a bigger, more extravagant reaction than the one she got.

"Oh, well that's good to know." Rachel said with a little shrug.

"How did I see that coming?" Quinn said, seemingly to herself but loud enough so everyone could hear.

"Wait, you guys don't really care?" she asked incredulously.

"What, do you want us to try and burn you at the stake or something?" Quinn asked skeptically, arching her eyebrow.

"No, but-"

"You expect the worst, we understand." Rachel said sympathetically.

Santana sank into a chair.

"Can I ask you guys for advice?" she asked. Rachel nodded right away and Quinn rolled her eyes. "So tonight, I'm the advice booth." she mumbled. Santana shot her a glare.

"What do you like that guys do for you? Like, what's impressive?"

Rachel and Quinn both paused and thought for a minute.

"When they're nicer than you would expect." Quinn said, pointing her quill at Santana. "When they compliment you. Very specifically. You know, I like your shirt and your eyes look pretty, things like that." Rachel chimed in. "And when they get you meaningful things. Like necklaces relating to whatever pet name they give you. That stuff." Quinn added thoughtfully. There was another pause before Rachel said "And when they do things just for you. Ditching class to come and see you, for example. That's romantic."

"Why, you trying to impress someone?" Quinn asked, grinning a bit.

"No!" Santana said, then paused before saying "Yes…" in an almost mopey way.

"Ohmygod, tell me who!" Rachel said, bouncing on the edge of her seat.

"Brittany, from Hufflepuff…" Santana said, looking down.

"Oh yeah, you do sneak off to spend time with her all the time! But I heard you have Ravenclaws with you too…" Quinn said, looking up at the ceiling. Santana shrugged.

"They're friends too." she said.

"Of all the people to make friends out of her own house…" Rachel said with a little, teasing grin at Santana.

"Santana, do you know anything about Noah Puckerman?" Quinn asked suddenly, and the grin was wiped off Rachel's face as fast as possible. Yes, Santana was a friend, but she could start rumors! Rachel didn't want everyone thinking she was head over heels for Puck, she wasn't sure of her feelings for him yet.

"Yeah, I've slept with him." Santana said casually, and Rachel blushed. "I guess he's pretty good looking. He's kind of a show off. I dunno much else."

Quinn shot a look at Rachel and Rachel glared back, and Santana saw the incredible tension in their eyes and stood up.

"So yeah, bye." she said a bit awkwardly, and left them alone.

Finn walked up to Rachel outside of Potions the next day, eager to talk to her. He heard a rumor she ad a crush on Puck, and he had mixed emotions. Of course he was feeling a little protective. He knew Puck was capable of doing bad things to girls, and he wanted Rachel to be safe and happy. Sure, they weren't really dating, but they had been on and off during fourth and fifth year and he knew how she liked her boys. Puck seemed kind of an unlikely choice. But he knew if she started going out with Puck, he was a free agent for as long as they were together. Rachel would be off his back for a while, and he liked the idea. She was a good girlfriend, but when she was being overbearing and possessive, it was annoying.

"Hey Rachel." he said as he walked over to where she was standing with Kurt and Blaine. They all turned and looked at him, Blaine more politely than Kurt and Rachel. Rachel looked pleasantly surprised, and Kurt looked a bit suspicious. He knew how unsteady Finn and Rachel's relationships could be and how brief talks could leave Rachel in a depression for days.

"Oh, hey Kurt. Blaine." he said with a little head nod. Blaine unconsciously moved closer to Kurt, and Kurt waved at Finn before leaning into Blaine and saying "Come on honey, they need their privacy."

Finn looked at his little brother and Blaine walk away. Honey? Where did that come from?

"Hi Finn." Rachel said shyly, and Finn's eyes darted back to her. He grinned a half grin at her.

"Is it cool if we talk?" he asked, and she nodded. "Of course."

"I heard from somebody that you were interested in Puck." he said bluntly, and they both looked over to where the mohawked boy was talking casually to Harry, Ron and Hermione. Their eyes briefly darted back to each other.

"I don't Finn, I've only really talked to him once." Rachel said, looking down and remembering the conversation she had last night with Quinn. Which reminded her of Santana coming out. Which reminded her of-

Her thoughts started to miserably trail off, mainly due to the fact she stayed up late to finish her homework and was ready to find the nearest bed and pass out on it right away. However, Finn brought her back to the present.

"Oh. Well I was just gonna say, like, if you did, I think that would be pretty cool as long as he liked you."

"Really?" Rachel asked, something incredibly similar to hope exposing itself in her voice. Finn nodded.

"But Rach, you hand out with Quinn and you know what he can do to a girl. I'm just gonna say, he's kind of a womanizer, so if you ever were to date him…"

"Finn, I'm sure I could keep him under control." Rachel said steadily. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"You sure? Cause he's kinda further along with the whole boys-and-girls thing than you are…" Finn muttered.

"Someone doesn't have to know much about sex to keep their boyfriend in check." Rachel said firmly, looking a little less than pleased.

"No, that's not what I meant! I just mean if he gets tired of dating you, he'll move on pretty fast and you'll… You'll…"

"I understand, Finn." Rachel said with the same firm tone as Slughorn opened up the doors to his room. "I'm glad we had this talk."

"I didn't mean to offend you or anything, I just-" Finn started, trying to explain himself. Rachel cut him off.

"No, Finn, I really do understand. Thanks for warning me." she said kindly, smiling up at him. "And if that day ever do comes when I want to date him, I'm glad I have your approval."

Finn nodded, his little half grin back in place. "Sweet. So, see you later." he said, walking into the Potions classroom.

Rachel felt liberated. Now that she knew Finn was really ready to move on, and he had put it in words and gave her permission to date his ex-best friend, she felt like she could move on too. The little romantic feelings she had for Finn were still pining after him, wishing he would make up with her and pay her more attention, and she doubted they would ever go away. But now she was ready to go and put herself out there, she was ready for more men and more romance, more singing and a better social life with real, established friendships. Now that she knew they could both move on happily, she knew she could do anything without having to worry about Finn's disapproval. It was an amazing feeling.

She, Kurt and Blaine walked into the Potions room and sat at the table they usually occupied near the center. Rachel knew she wouldn't be able to worm her way into Kurt and Blaine's conversation. They were talking about nothing too interesting, but the _way _they talked to each other was the hard part to get around. They were both so obviously glad to be open with their relationship status that their relief was just leaking into every word, and Rachel wasn't part of that equation. It didn't bother her though, she knew they would get over it soon and just settle back into normality.

Puck swaggered up to their table and sat down across from Rachel, smiling his dopey smile.

"Hey Rachel." he said smoothly, and Rachel smiled at him.

"Hello Puck." she said cheerily.

"You look happy today. Whassup?" he asked, leaning on the table as Rachel started pulling her potions tools out of her bag.

"Nothing much. I was just talking to Finn, but other than that, today is as ordinary as ever." she said with a little shrug.

"Wait, was Finn the one who made you so happy? Are you two getting bak together or something?" he asked quickly, obviously eager for details. Rachel laughed.

"No, of course we're not. That's over and done with, finally. He actually…"

"What? What is it?"

"He gave me permission to start seeing other guys. Specifically you." Rachel said shyly, her smile disappearing as she started obviously longing for some sort of response.

"Well, do you wanna date?" Puck asked, just as eagerly. "Cause I was kinda thinking, I know we only talk during this class and stuff but you're a pretty cool chick, and…"

"No." Rachel said bluntly. Puck looked at her in shock. "What?"

"I said no, Noah. You're charming and handsome, but I think it would be nice to be single for a while. I mean, I was obsessed with Finn for nearly three years! Don't you think it's time for me to take a break?"

She had that overly-cheerful, almost dopey and perfectly Rachel-esque smile on her face. Puck sighed.

"Sure, I guess, when you put it like that. But you know where I am if you need a man."

He got up and moved as if he was going to walk away, back to the table where Sam, Seamus, and Dean sat.

"Wait!" Rachel said, her hand convulsively moving out as if to grab his sleeve. He turned around and looked down at her.

"I still need help with my potions. And it's not like you're the only Gryffindor at the table either. Sit." Rachel said, and Puck sat. Blaine gave Puck a small wave at the mention of their house, and Puck gave him a little head nod back.

"Ok, as long as Hummel doesn't start criticizing the Puck-hawk again."

"No promises!" Kurt said in a sing song voice, his eyes still on Blaine. Rachel snorted into her cauldron as Slughorn started the lesson.

Puck knew there was a reason he must be good at potions. It was the only class he cared all too much about, really. There was just something cool about the stuff you drink directly relating to your health and your future and all that. But he never really knew why he set much store by potion-making, but now he suspected that fate gave him that particular affection for the class so he could impress Rachel Berry. She was the first Slytherin he met that wasn't particularly good at potions and needed his help. It was the first time he felt that fate had really laid a hand in his life, except for his brief fling with Quinn. He was almost fully recovered from that drama, however, and wanted to move on and be the same old Puck he used to be. Yes, that Puck that moves from girl to girl faster than Harry Potter could attack Draco Malfoy. But Rachel made him stop and reconsider.

He never really found himself to be the type that fell for girls without some outstanding physical attractiveness or snotty, I'm-a-bitch attitude. The defensiveness and sensuality turned him on. But there was something different about Rachel, something nice. Yeah, she was annoying, but she was brilliant. She didn't take no for an answer. Her determination and excitement were infectious, and the fact that she always went for the underdog in terms of friendship made Puck think she wouldn't mind if he could vent to her about the way he felt about some things. Also, the way she laughed was adorable.

Thinking those half-serious, mushy thoughts about a girl made him think he was kind of a wimp, but hey, didn't it happen to everyone at some point? Better now with Rachel than later with some loser of a girl who wasn't worth his time.

So he found himself nearly dozing off as Slughorn explained the lesson, staring at Rachel, and for the first time he had to have Rachel explain what they were doing to him.

"You so like him! I swear, there's no denying it. You two are adorable." Kurt said triumphantly at the dinner table, cheerfully spooning mashed potatoes onto his plate. Rachel made a pouty face at him.

"I do NOT like him! And neither do you, at all. So why are you so excited?"

"Because you're a good girl, Rachel, and you deserve a guy in your life that makes you happy. Finn only got the worst girlfriend you could be cause it was your first try at all of that and it messed up everything. But now that you have experience, we can get everything to work out!" he said, digging in. Rachel looked over at Quinn, hoping for backup on the matter, but she and Draco were talking with Santana and Rachel wasn't in the mood to interrupt.

"You're right, Kurt. I do deserve someone who's worth my attention. But you don't have to play matchmaker with me just because I originally set you up with Blaine and now you're together."

"Wha- Blaine doesn't have anything to do with this!" Kurt said suddenly, swallowing his mouthful of food. "I'm just saying, you have a semi-nice guy who wants to date you! I say go for it."

"I wasn't asking your opinion…"

Kurt rolled his eyes at her and kept eating.


	22. Even Though Love Can Expose the Truth

Artie's ambition for moving about seemed endless now that he was out of his wheelchair. His relationship with Luna was going well and they were as passionate about their budding love as ever. Ginny was finally out of his mind, save for the occasional fond memory. Romantic issues? Check. Mobility? Working on it. Artie could walk around fine. A day of practicing and he had become accustomed to walking right away. "It's not like I had never done it before. And I guess it's like riding a bike, you never forget." he said to a curious Brittany one day with a little shrug. He was, however, tackling the other ways of getting around as fast as he could get his hands on them. He was eager to practice apparation, and he had mastered jogging and running and skipping just after walking. But his real problem was flying. Artie wanted to learn to fly very much, as it was an activity he had been excluded from for five years that everyone else had always enjoyed. He had gotten his hands on one of the school broomsticks faster than anyone could believe and had taken off right away. He was still learning ways to be graceful on solid ground, however, and the first time he tried to fly he was so nervous about getting off the ground he ended the session as soon as it had started. He had taken free time to practice tons more than he ever thought he would, but he was still very rusty. That's when he called on Dave, asked him to come down to the pitch with him sometimes and give him flying lessons. He got along rather well with Dave, they both liked the calm and the quiet, among other things. For whatever reason though, their relationship had never really blossomed into a very strong, solid friendship as Artie would have liked. He was too involved with Luna and Dave spent much more time around Santana and Brittany, though he and Luna had once been inseparable. Dave and Artie were out on the quidditch pitch, Dave hovering in the air and Artie trying to convince himself that yes, it would be acceptable to get off the ground. After several failed attempts at flying his self esteem took a plunge and he didn't want to embarrass himself again. Dave was looking exasperated. "Come on dude, all you have to do is kick off and hovering is no hard shit. Come on." he urged, and Artie sighed. He didn't want to come off as a total wimp, and they both seemed to have disregarded that he had spent the last eight years of his life without setting a foot on the ground. Flying was their priority that day. Artie mounted his broom and kicked off, soaring briefly up to Dave's height and hovering there, facing him, sweaty palms gripping the broom handle. "Ok sweet, that was better. So yeah. I dunno how to explain it, like, what to do next. Just try and move." Dave said, leaning forward a bit to show Artie what he meant. The broom moved forward with him, gliding elegantly, as if it was controlled by his mind. Dave was a natural flyer. Artie furrowed his brow, focusing intently. He wanted desperately to follow Dave to that level of expertise. He leaned forward a bit, trying to ease the broom forward with him, coaxing it on with his mind. Artie had no idea why he thought that might work, because they had been going over the same steps all day and he had done it successfully without trying to penetrate into whatever mind the broom had before. However, it moved forward under him, inching itself along, and Artie smiled to himself. "Ok, now go faster." Dave said, watching Artie in case he decided to fall off his broom. Artie took a big breath and leaned forwards a bit more and the broom understood it to mean to go faster, and it did. "Now try and fly around." Dave said, and Artie pulled his broom to the left. It went left. He pulled it back to the right, it went right. Artie made it go slow, then fast, then back again, pointlessly curving one way or another. To anyone outside his circle of friends, he would have looked like a fool. But he was making progress with his confidence, and that was all he cared about. With every try, Dave became less frustrated with Artie. It was clear he was gaining his confidence off the ground rapidly, and Dave was happy he wasn't urging Artie off the ground anymore. They became more at ease with each other once their little practice session was coming to a had flown to the ground and Artie had put his borrowed broom back in the broom shed when they started to head back up towards the castle, and Artie wanted to ask something he had been wondering about for a while."Dave?" he asked casually at they walked."Mm?""Can I ask you something?" "Well yeah, you can. Wait, is it like, embarrassing or something?""Kind of…""Well like, how embarrassing? Cause I don't want you asking me some weird crap and then spreading it around the school." he said. Artie could tell he was starting to use tough tones to try and prepare himself for facing whatever question Artie was going to ask him."Are you gay?" Artie asked. Dave's eyes widened for a second. "Hell no man, what gave you that idea?" he asked with a little, shaky laugh. Artie sighed. "Well, for a long time you were always ditching us like, 'Oh bye guys, gotta go hang out with Kurt!' and that stuff, and then you would come back happy like no one's business. And now Kurt has a boyfriend, and you're all 'Nah man Kurt's like a homo or whatever Imma just hang out with my Ravenclaw friends.' and whenever you see Kurt and Blaine together you like, break your quill. Or whatever is in your hands." Artie said, looking suspiciously at Dave. "Dude, hanging out with some cool gay kid doesn't make me gay." Dave said glumly. "Yeah, but hanging out with a flaming homosexual, then acting like you just won the lottery every time you saw him, now getting all pissy whoever you see him and his boyfriend leads a guy to wonder." Artie said with a little shrug. "You know what?" Dave said quietly, looking down at the ground and looking angry with himself."Sup?" Artie asked."I kinda think I might be gay." Dave mumbled at his shoes. "Oh. So cool then." Artie said casually, trying not to make the situation any more awkward for Dave, who seemed to want to stop walking. "So you don't care?" he asked curiously. "Nah man. People in this school always expect people to just judge you right away but the thing is, kids here are pretty accepting about the personal stuff. I mean, we were all nasty to Harry Potter in second year cause we thought he was a murderer. But being gay? Who cares if you have people that love you anyway, am I right?"Dave nodded. "It's just such a big deal in the Muggle world, you know? And my mom's a Muggle, so I have to deal with that stuff all the time.""Hey, if your dad don't care and your friends don't care, then whatever! You're here all the time anyway, Hogwarts is like home." Artie said. "I know… I think I really should come out soon…""Who else knows?""Santana, Blaine, and Kurt." Dave said, hesitating just slightly before saying Kurt's name. Artie nodded knowingly again, letting the conversation fall into silence for a second before picking it up again."You really like Kurt, don't you Dave?" Artie asked bluntly, looking over at his friend. They were almost at the castle walls, but Artie wanted to keep the conversation going. His natural instinct to talk out issues with and support his friends was kicking in and he didn't think he could leave the conversation just then. "Yeah, I mean, I guess. I dunno. I think he deserves better than Blaine, and he's really good looking and all that…" Dave mutters so Artie could barely hear him. "I think you should try and go after him." Artie said. "What?" Dave asked. "Come on man, he's not going to stay with Blaine forever! I think you should try to rope him in. We only have one more year in this joint and it's not going to be different from any of the others if we don't do something about it! And I really think you should try to get Kurt to like you back." he said firmly. "I don't think I could do that! I'm not even sure I'm gay man, I don't want to take Kurt from his first boyfriend then decide I like girls or some shit! That would be a huge dick move." he said. They walked into the castle together and Artie sighed. "Well, it was good talking to you anyway. I have to go to the library. And thanks for the flying lessons." he said as he turned and walked away, giving Dave a little smile first.-Santana had been surprised that the Hogsmede visits hadn't been completely cancelled since the incident with Katie Bell. Now it was almost the end of the year and with her debacle in the hospital and coming out to Brittany, she had completely forgotten Dave's advice for getting Britt to love her back. Now, however, they were walking down to the village together, Dave, Artie and Luna were behind them chatting. Santana and Brittany walked in silence, enjoying the warming weather. That's what Santana loved about the end of the year, escape from work and no more ice surrounding her. But mostly she loved the way Brittany seemed to relax when spring came, she loosened up and started losing her scarves and gloves, and that's when Santana thought she looked her best. They reached Hogsmede with the cluster of students who were still giving up studying and free time by the lake to go down to the village. "Hey guys, I'm going to take Brittany someplace." Santana turned and said with her devilish, charming smile on her face. Even though she planned on not doing anything mischievous, that essence showed in her smile. It seemed as though she had to make that face so often he forgot how to make an innocent one. "That sounds fine." Luna said, smiling at them. Dave grinned at Santana."Where are we going, San?" Brittany asked, peeking out at their friends from behind Santana. "Come see." she said with a more genuine smile as she and Brittany turned and walked away. Santana's hands were buried in her pockets, but Brittany's hand slipped out and latched onto Santana's wrist, slowly coaxing her hand away from her pocket and into Brittanys. Santana's heart started to tap dance inside her chest, trying to encourage her to express her joy in the same way. She kept a poker face though, trying not to ruin the surprise. "Tell me where we're going!" Brittany insisted, and Santana shook her head. "Not until we get there." she said teasingly, starting to smile a bit. Brittany pouted. "But I want to know! Is it scary?" she asked, launching into twenty questions. "No.""Is it Zonkos?" "No.""Oh, I like Zonkos…" she muttered, looking down at her own feet trudging along the ground. Santana had a hard time finding someone willing to sell cats. There was no pet store in Hogsmede, and she was determined to find some sort of alternative to that when she was planning out how the day would go. Everything had to be perfect, not just for Brittany but for her. If the day didn't go right, it could result in some sort of rejection or blow to her self-esteem. Santana didn't want that. Why was falling in love such a risky business? However, she as in luck when she found out Madam Rosemarta's cat had just given birth to a litter of kittens, and she said Santana could pick any one she liked, as she didn't have enough time to take care of all of them. "Oh! We're going to the Three Broomsticks!" Brittany said cheerfully. Santana nodded. "There's a surprise for you there.""What kind of surprise? Because the last time someone said they had a surprise for me they really meant that I had to clean out under my bedsheets." she said glumly, and Santana stifled a laugh into her glove as she opened the door and let Brittany in ahead of her. Warm, sweet air hit them as they stepped inside the wooden building and Brittany looked around at Rosmerta's clients right away, scouting the room for unusual looking people. Santana observed her, she was used to Brittany looking around for the odd person out every time they entered a room. It was a habit she had developed, and Santana didn't know why. Brittany would always just politely point them out and then ignore them. It was as if she just wanted to know where they were, she didn't make a single harsh comment afterwards. It was just that way. But before Brittany could say a thing, Rosemerta walked up to them, her usual swagger in her hips. "Ah, it's good to see you two." she said, a strand of hair blowing out of place. She attempted to push it back by blowing with her cherry red lips, her hands on her hips. Santana smiled. She had always liked Rosemerta, she would have liked to be her apprentice or something similar. She had always felt that she and Rosemerta would have worked well together in that sort of situation, she had always admired her spunk from afar. "Well, we're here. Wanna show us the babies?" Santana asked. Brittany looked excitedly from Rosemerta to Santana. "Babies?" she asked, and both of them pretended they didn't hear her. "Right this way." Rosemerta said, and led them upstairs to her own bedroom. Brittany's excitement was obviously mounting and her curious, prying eyes were peering around every corner for her surprise. Watching her become excited was making Santana feel happy, and all the more in love. Brittany was opened the door and Brittany gasped. Rosemerta's tabby cat was laying on the ground and kittens were exploring the room, pawing at the bedsheets and hopping up onto whatever they could reach. "Pick whichever you want." Rosemerta said with a smile as Brittany dashed into the room and was on her knees playing with a kitten before either of them could blink. "Santana, did you do this? Did you set this up?" Brittany asked as if that was the most life-changing question she could ask. She sounded desperate, almost. Santana smiled even wider. "Of course I did." she said, walking over to Brittany and kneeling next to her, looking fondly at the kitten that had crawled onto her lap and was kneading her robes with it's too big paws. Rosmerta smiled at them."I don't mean to rush you girls, but I really need to get back downstairs. Do you want him?" she asked, gesturing to the kitten on Brittany's lap."Yes, I want him." she said, delighted, and Santana beamed. Everything was working out so far, and she loved the way Britt was beaming. Rosemerta set up a basked lines with fuzzy hand towels for them to take the little kitten back to Hogwarts in. Brittany kept uncovering him to peek at his head, and every time Santana tried to cover him back up again, he was uncovered in an instant an struggling to get back out to Brittany. They walked downstairs and out onto the street again, where Dave, Artie, and Luna were walking and hadn't noticed them yet. "Hey guys!" Brittany yelled, the basket in the crook of her arm as she waved furiously to their friends with her other hand. They seemed much more approachable then usual when Santana couldn't contain her smile and Brittany was practically bouncing off any surface she could reach, as opposed to their usual exclusiveness with each other. The two little groups walked to meet each other in the middle of the street."Look at that!" Artie said, looking down at the kitten that had poked it's head out of the basket again. He grinned at it and the kitten struggled to get out of the basket to meet him, then meet Dave and Luna who had walked up behind him. "What's his name?" Dave asked, and Brittany shrugged. "I haven't decided yet…" she said thoughtfully, her eyes finding the little brown and red cat who was fighting against the blankets."How about Albert? He looks like an Albert." Artie said matter-of-factly. Santana scoffed at him. "Albert is almost as bad as Artie." she said. Artie looked a bit affronted but didn't say anything. Even a happy Santana wasn't something to go up against. "He looks like a Harold to me." Luna said, tilting her head as if to see him better. "What, are you two like the Couple of Bad Names? I feel sorry for your future children." Santana said, and Brittany gave her a look that said "That was mean but I can't stay mad at you." Dave rolled his eyes at her."As long as we're gonna be pitching in names, I think he looks like a Kevin." Dave said, grinning a little to himself as the tiny creature stared up at him with huge, green eyes. "You _guys,_" Brittany said, as if she was pointing the most obvious thing in the world out to a crowd of slow people. "Those aren't cat names.""Cat names can be the same thing as people names." Artie said, and Brittany made a little disapproving noise at him. She obviously thought differently. "But what's the point of getting something you could name Sparkles or Fish Breath if you're not even going to do that? You can't name babies things that cool. Why would you pass up an opportunity like this?" she asked, and Artie shrugged. "I don't think I would ever name anything Fish Breath…" Luna said thoughtfully, and Artie beamed at her. Santana made a small, annoyed noise at the fact Artie thought her saying something like that was cute. Brittany moved as if she was about to start walking back towards the castle and they all moved in response and without further ado, they were moving their way back up to Hogwarts. After three years of Hogsmede visits, a bit of the novelty had worn off. Short sentences concerning name ideas were made on the walk back, but no solid conversation was formed. A lazy, end of the year silence had fallen over their group as a whole lately, their closeness meant that only facial expressions had to be exchanged for real conversation to be made anyway. They reached the castle and the kitten still hadn't been properly named. The group went their own ways, namely meaning the Ravenclaws went back to their common room, sensing that Santana wanted to be alone with Brittany again. Santana took Brittany's hand and started walking with her once they were alone again, and their footsteps echoed around the corridor. Everyone was either outside studying in the much warmer weather or doing the same in their common rooms or the library. Brittany never studied, even though Santana had been encouraging her to. But she didn't want to be a hypocrite, since she was a big fan of last available week cramming sessions. "What do you think his name should be?" Brittany asked, peering into her basket again. "I dunno. You for sure want a cat name?" she asked, and Brittany nodded. Santana sighed, considering her options. She had never really been good at naming anything."Yeah. You heard what I said earlier." she said with a little nod, looking over at Santana. "What about… Emerald? For his eyes?" Santana asked cautiously, not even really liking her own idea. Brittany scrunched up her face in protest. "That's a girl name. He's a boy." she said in stubborn tones. Santana sighed. She knew there was no way of getting out of naming the cat. "Ok… Snake.""No.""Dandelion.""No.""Bowtie.""No.""Cat.""No.""Ciaytey.""Cee-Ay-Tee?""Yeah." Santana said casually. "It sounds like you're saying the letters C-A-T, but sped up. So the cats name is technically Cat, but weirder… I guess.""Ciaytey… I like it." Brittany said with a little grin down at the little fuzzy head poking out of the little towels it was covered in. Ciaytey looked up at her with his big green eyes and his little, white whiskers twitched. Brittany suddenly started and nearly dropped the basket. "What is it?" Santana asked worriedly, looking with concern at Brittany. "He smiled at me!" Brittany said in shock, and Santana eased the tension in her shoulders. "Oh really?" she asked with a slightly more teasing tone. Brittany nodded furiously, looking down at Ciaytey to see if he would do it again. Santana was pushing down the urge to tell Brittany that cats really didn't just smile whenever they wanted to like humans, but Brittany was so hugely stunned that Santana let her have her moment. It was what was right. But Santana noticed something else was right as well. It was as if somewhere, the stars had aligned and the sun was streaming down on them and everything in Santana was saying "Do it. Go. Ask her out."Honestly, Santana had no reason to believe that Brittany wouldn't go out with her. She was hopeful, actually. How far of a journey was it from acceptance to love? Santana didn't know, she felt she didn't accept the people she couldn't love. But Brittany, her sweet Brittany, could open her heart to anyone and let them in and out without a second glance. Santana watched it happen with boyfriend after boyfriend. Yet somehow, Santana had come in and locked herself there, and some little bit of Brittany loved her. She knew that. It's why they had stayed together all their lives, stayed friends, stayed lovers, even, at some points. Everything they had been through together had to mean something. All the years, all the crushes, all the tears, the dances, the love the hate, the peace and the war, the rivalry and the romance, it all meant something. There was no way Brittany didn't know how that worked. There was no way she could ignore that they had been more than friends for a long time. Yes there would be rumors, and whispers, and hate. But so what? Dave and Kurt and Blaine had their own thing going on and no one was messing with them. Why couldn't she take that leap? Why couldn't she risk the fall if they could? She knew she was stronger than all of them combined. "Britt?" she asked, and Brittany finally removed her head from the basket, regaining her normal stance. "Yeah San?" she asked, and Santana choked down two breaths to keep her steady."There's something I've been wanting to ask you." she said, even calmer than she had thought she'd be able to. Brittany looked as though she might have been catching on, though she was still obviously missing pieces to the puzzle. "What's that?" she asked. Santana closed her eyes and took a real deep breath before opening her eyes again, staring right at Brittany. Brittany's curious, pale eyes found her dark ones and there was a moment of silence when they both knew what was about to happen before the words left Santana's mouth. "Brittany, will you be my girlfriend?" she asked, slowly and surely. Brittany nodded, her mouth curving up into a little smile. She leaned in and hugged Santana and Santana threw her arms around Brittany, careful not to jostle Ciayteys basket. "I love you." she whispered in Brittany's ear, her voice cracking slightly as she tried to hold back some of the emotion threatening to burst through her. "I love you too." Brittany whispered back.


	23. Even Though Love Brings Hurt

Kurt was walking down the halls to the library for his free period to study, having just said goodbye to Blaine as he left him for a Transfiguration lesson. He was in a good mood that day, which had certainly been an improvement on the last. Yesterday, he couldn't fix his hair properly, Rachel was in a stuffy mood because Draco had offended her over a bicker about Noah Puckerman and Finn, and Blaine had no time to see him. So though the day was average at best, Kurt couldn't help but feel ten times walked into the library and saw Dave sitting at a table, reading over an essay, books stacked all around him. Kurt walked over to him, ignoring the part of him that told him it might not be a good idea. "Hi Dave." Kurt said as he sat down across from Dave, setting his satchel down by the side of his chair. Dave looked up glumly from his paper. "Hey." he muttered. He was obviously not as happy as Kurt was. Quite the opposite actually, he looked like he was having an awful day. "Where are your friends?" Kurt asked, making himself comfortable at the table. Dave looked down at his parchment, annoyance written all over his face. "They're all off with each other. Artie and Luna are somewhere and now that Santana and Brittany are dating-""Oh, they are? That's good, Santana finally got the courage!" Kurt said happily, and Dave shrugged. "Whatever. They're all off with each other so I'm stuck here. What difference does it make?""Well, I don't like to see you sitting here alone." Kurt said, tilting his head down to get a look at Dave's face, which it seemed he was trying to hide after Kurt's last comment. Dave was blushing and was trying not to let Kurt see. He was still very infatuated with Kurt, he knew that, and he was very aware of it. It was hard to count Kurt as one of his friends when he meant so much more than that to Dave, and it was much harder to be around him now that he was dating Blaine. The change in his attitude was overwhelming, he was a much happier person, and the jealousy Dave had for Blaine was massive. However, he had grown to be used to that. It was still painful, but it was part of day to day life. But now that Brittany and Santana were dating, all of his friends had been paired off and each one of the couples was so in love with the other that Dave was beginning to feel rather ignored most of the time. He was getting desperate for some sort of romantic affection. It was hard to be surrounded by kissing couples all day and not want that for himself. The whole scenario was a bit much for him to handle. His love for Kurt and what he had just said paired with his need for a relationship and the fact that he was in a bad mood already just made him ache with loneliness. He looked up at Kurt after a long pause and said "Cool." He really didn't know what else to say. Anything else and one thing would have come tumbling out of his mouth after the next, he thought, and then where would he be?"Dave, we haven't really talked since the last quidditch game. I mean, we've talked, because we're friends, but… We aren't around each other the way we used to be.""Huh. I noticed." he said a bit coldly. Kurt gave him a look, but didn't say anything. After another pause, Dave looked over at Kurt. "Were you going to ask me why that is?" he said. Kurt nodded. "But it seemed a little too soon in the conversation for that, so…""We can talk about it." Dave said. He knew himself, and he knew talking to Kurt would probably give him some sort of release, and at the moment he didn't care what he said or how awkward it would be afterwards. He just wanted to talk to someone. "Ok. I think I have an idea about what's going on here though." Kurt said, raising one eyebrow slightly. Dave looked at him curiously. "What's that?""You're jealous of Blaine and I." he said bluntly, and the sheer truth of the statement had Dave reeling for a few seconds before he could answer. "You wanna know the truth? Yeah. You're right. I'm super fucking jealous of you and your little boyfriend, because, you know, I had that shot with you and I don't know what I did to mess it up but you chose him over me and it hurts, especially now since Santana and Brittany are dating. All of my friends are just all over each other, and I'm left here alone." he hissed angrily. Kurt's eyes widened and a deep sadness took over them. Dave's half-formed viciousness was swallowed alive by the depth of Kurt's eyes, which looked like little exploding stars, and he wished Kurt would just say something back. He was suddenly regretting the decision to take his emotions and dump them all over Kurt. "Dave… I was that person for such a long time…" Kurt said slowly, carefully, tenderly, and reached out and covered Dave's big, meaty hand with his soft, pale one and just looked at him, remembering what his old affections were. Dave almost recoiled, not wanting to get close to Kurt again right when he was beginning to draw himself away. It was easier just to stay with his other friends and forget romance. Love was never something he could get right, he thought. "I dunno… I fell like you're unintentionally leading me on and it sucks." Dave said slowly. He had never really said this much about himself to anyone, not at one time and not so quickly. But Kurt was there, listening, and probably not judging him. Dave wasn't going to miss that opportunity. "Like, stuff like this happens and I think that you like me cause look, you're like, holding my hand and I think that I have a chance and every time I try to do something back it's like, 'Oh look at me I'm going to make out with this Gryffindor kid.'" Dave said, looking down at the table. His shoulders tensed. "I'm sorry." Kurt said, and Dave couldn't help but notice how he sounded like he really meant it. "I've never been anything desirable until this year, and this was all something Rachel set up… I never intended it to get emotional…" he muttered, absentmindedly stroking his thumb over the back of Dave's hand the way he did to Blaine. That was the motion he was used to making, he did it on instinct. "I don't want this to be weird, I want to be your friend and to be honest, I really liked you for a while. I mean, the way you want me to like you, so… It's just… Blaine made a move first. You are both so different, it's not like I could just desert one of you for the other but it feels like that's what's happening and it's… Strange." he said. Dave nodded, listening just as Kurt had done for him. "I know." Dave said, and he knew that he had nothing else to follow Kurt up with. He had completely summed up Dave's feelings in general. There was more he could add, but what was the point? Kurt understood him, that was what mattered. Dave sighed, lowering his head. He was on the fence about asking Kurt something, something that he had started wondering about. Why not? Dave asked himself. He was already in what he considered to be a messy situation anyway. He might as well ask. "Do you ever regret that Blaine got there first?" he asked suddenly, and Kurt looked a bit stunned with the question. His hand tightened over Dave's, purely out of brief shock. He sighed, seemed to consider the question. He pursed his lips before licking them, buying himself time with small gestures. "Dave, I'm happy with Blaine. I love him, and he loves me. I know you don't want to hear that, but…. It's the way it is. Sometimes I think about what it would have been like with you… And I like it. But I'll never regret my decision to be with Blaine." he said, looking Dave in the eyes with something close to pain in his face."Don't say that. You never know." Dave said, slightly bitterly. "He could dump you, and leave you and turn out to be an ass." "I know my boyfriend. He wouldn't do that to anyone. Trust me, Dave, Blaine wouldn't hurt a flea."Dave scowled, his hands clenching into fists. "I told you, you never know.""I know. But I have to trust him, don't I?" Kurt said, sighing softly. He slowly pulled his hand away from Dave's and stood up, drawing a bit closer and slowly leaning down to kiss Dave on the forehead. "Thank you for everything." he said quietly and left the library, not knowing what to think about what had just Kurt said sounded so much like a goodbye to Dave that he could hardly hold in the tears threatening to take over.-Kurt and Blaine sat in the Room of Requirement long after hours, finishing their studying. They had taken this as an opportunity to work longer into the night and be together at the same time. No one at Hogwarts cared very much that they were a gay couple, but they got a bit of teasing for being Gryffindor and Slytherin. Kurt supposed that was an improvement upon homophobic teasing, but he still found it annoying. They were sitting on the couch in the room Santana had told Kurt of, the one she and her friends had made for themselves. Kurt and Blaine started to use it as well. It was obvious Blaine was getting tired, and his weight was getting heavier and heavier on Kurt's shoulder the more and more he slouched down. He finally closed the book on his lap and sighed."I wanna go to bed." he said, his eyes itching from staying open too long and focusing on the tiny text of his book. He closed them and sighed again, trying to get comfortable while leaning on Kurt. "Wait, I want to tell you something. Up, Blaine, get up.""Kurt, I'm telling you right now, this has to wait until tomorrow."Kurt wanted to tell Blaine about Dave. He wanted to share how bad the boy was feeling, how he needed a relationship, how they used to be much more close, how things changed. Most of all, he wanted to tell Blaine how much he pitied Dave, the way he identified with him in the same way, how he couldn't quite tell Dave how much he understood, how much he wanted to help, to do anything, because he knew the way it felt to feel so alone even with good friends. But there Blaine was, nearly sleeping sitting up and trying to put books in his bag with limp hands. He probably wouldn't catch a word Kurt was saying. Kurt looked down, wishing Blaine was more awake. "Ok honey, I'll tell you tomorrow." he said quietly. -Kurt waited al the next day for the right time to tell Blaine about Dave. It was hard, though. Blaine was always doing something, or Dave was in sight, or Kurt was doing something. The time didn't seem to be coming, and Kurt thought he'd have to put it off another day. He really wished he wouldn't have to do that, though. The topic would seem far outdated by then, and would seem more like a rumor than a statement. He finally caught Blaine in the halls though as they went their different ways to classes. He grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the crowds of students walking. "Kurt! Hey!" he said, happy as ever when he saw Kurt."Can I tell you something?" he asked quickly. They both had a class to get to but somehow, it just felt like the right moment to tell him."Oh… Sure, go ahead." he said, trying to look a bit more serious when he saw that Kurt was."You know Dave?" Kurt asked, and Blaine nodded his head right away. "He was kind of my competition when I was working up the courage to ask you to be my boyfriend." Blaine said with a little chuckle."That's the thing. He feels bad, Blaine, about being left out of all the couply-stuff. I know how that feels and I feel bad for him and I-""Are you trying to break up with me for him?" Blaine asked suspiciously, furrowing his eyebrows. Kurt looked stunned."No! No, Blaine, I love you! I'm just saying…""Kurt, are you trying to ask my permission to comfort someone?" Blaine asked, even more incredulous then. Kurt looked at him curiously, wondering if that really was what he was doing. He wasn't so sure himself, but he felt that there wasn't really another explanation. "Oh Kurt, you don't need to ask me for that kind of stuff. You're the most kind, lovely, empathetic person I know and if you think you could go out into the world and help someone sad feel better, go and do it. If you're making people happy, I don't care who it is. I don't care what house they're in or where they're from or their sexual orientation or anything. You have a gift, Kurt. You made me feel special and if Dave needs your comfort, then you should help him, and not give a damn about my opinion." Blaine said, fixating Kurt with his warm gaze, his mouth open in that hesitant way, half smiling. Blaine looked very in love, and the relief and affection swept over Kurt like a wave."No one's said anything like that to me before." Kurt said, smiling down at Blaine with that same airy half-smile."I'm surprised. Everyone knows it." Blaine said with a little grin. Kurt let out a little laugh and pulled Blaine into a hug, his arms around his neck. "You're the best boyfriend anyone could ask for." Kurt mumbled into Blaine's unruly hair and Blaine grinned brightly into Kurt's shoulder."Then I'm so glad I'm yours."-A day passed, and Blaine was holding down the urge to talk to Dave. He was well aware that sometimes he could be overbearing about people's personal issues. He wanted to help so much that he would just burst in and start trying to give them advice. He knew some people appreciated that because they were too scared to ask for advice anyway, but some people hated it because they were very protective of their own issues. Blaine knew Dave was one of those people. He learned from experience it was very unwise to mess with them about something they could probably figure out themselves. On the other hand, he thought he knew what Dave was going through. Even if it wasn't a huge deal, he knew it was important to know there was someone to turn to if you needed to vent or ask for help. Blaine knew it would be awkward, considering he was Kurt's boyfriend, but loneliness was a bigger problem than it seemed and he was hoping that if he reached out to Dave, they could move past that. Temporarily, at found Dave in the next Charms lesson and sat down next to him. Dave looked up at him, obviously tired and not in any mood for conversation. There was no stopping Blaine once he put his mind to this sort of thing, however, and he relaxed in his chair to try and ease the tension that had already sprung up. "Hey." he said, a little smile creeping up in his face. Dave nodded at him and attempted to smile back. The lesson hadn't started yet and the whole room was buzzing with chatter so Blaine figured it was a good time to talk. "The last time we were here we were getting into a fight." Blaine said with a little laugh, and Dave snorted. "That really sucked." he muttered. Blaine nodded, and a few more seconds passed before Blaine said "Kurt told me about your conversation the other day." Dave straightened up a bit and looked much more attentive. "He did?""Yeah, he did, and I don't care that he was talking to you or comforting you or whatever was going on, ok?" Blaine said, looking over at Dave much more seriously. Dave scowled. "I don't need your permission to do anything." he muttered. "Yeah, but you should know that I don't care if you two talk or hang out, because I know there was rivalry between us and it could make you and Kurt think that I'm more possessive than I am and… Things could get dramatic. More so than they need to be. It's good to be open, y'know?" Blaine said, and Dave merely nodded. "But he told me you were feeling lonely?" Blaine prompted, and Dave looked straight at the front of the classroom. "It's probably not as big of a deal as he made it sound." Dave mumbled, and Blaine looked at him pityingly. "But it might be, and it might turn into one. I want you to know that I'm always going to be willing to talk to you, and if you're not comfortable with that, I'm sure Kurt will be too." Blaine said, expecting Dave to perk up at least a little bit. When he didn't, Blaine realized that Dave probably would have rather been left alone by everyone, especially him. Blaine sighed. "I'm sorry that this is so awkward. I just hate knowing that people are feeling bad when I'm not, it makes me want to help. Have you ever felt that way?" Blaine asked, looking over at Dave. "I guess, at some point. I mean, who hasn't felt bad for someone before?""No, I mean… Just knowing that you have to at least try to help or you won't be satisfied?" "You're crazy, man."Blaine chuckled to himself. "So I've been told." he said, nodding a little. He slowly became serious again. "I was also kinda hoping that we could put the rivalry that happened behind us. You know, Dave, I actually do like you. I wouldn't mind getting to know you. I also just feel like we're not putting what happened earlier this year behind us and… Yeah."Dave snorted. "Sorry, but that may not happen for a while." he muttered. Blaine looked at him curiously."I don't wanna say it." Dave said, burying his face in his crossed arms resting on the table. Blaine shrugged."Ok, that's fine. But if it's something that's going to keep us all from moving past this into a healthy, accepting relationship, I'd like to know at some point." Dave grunted and it sounded like it might have been an answer. The truth was, Blaine was getting on his nerves. Dave wanted to let go of all this as much as Blaine did, but he was getting annoying. He didn't think Blaine should be telling him when to confess his love for Kurt, especially since he was Kurt's boyfriend. Weren't they supposed to just avoid that kind of thing all together? Why was Blaine insisting they try and make everything better? They should just be awkward with each other and move on, Dave thought. He also knew he just couldn't say out loud what he needed to say to make everything ok. How that when he saw Kurt, everything stopped being so stressful and annoying and he could just lose himself in Kurt's eyes. How he didn't think about Kurt all the time, but when he saw him his heart started pumping and he couldn't help but smile. How everything seemed happy. But somewhere inside him, he only knew seeing Kurt made everything better because he knew Kurt was happy. Dave knew that him being with Kurt wouldn't be right then, and the light would disappear from Kurt's eyes, and what they had wouldn't be so special anymore. He prepared himself to wait and wait, but didn't expect the random waves of jealousy and longing, and how he wished it would stop just as much as anyone involved but it wasn't something he could just turn on and off. "Can I guess what it is, though?" Blaine asked, and Dave shot him a glare. Flitwick was scolding Sam for practicing on his shoe and making it float away without permission, which was postponing the lesson by a few minutes. Blaine was taking every second he could get to talk."I'm just going to guess that you still love Kurt." Blaine said quietly, and Dave made a point of not looking at him. That was all Blaine needed for conformation. He knew what people looked like when they didn't want to admit something, and Dave was being a prime example. "I don't care that you do. I mean, sure it bothers me because I'm dating him, but I won't be crazily possessive. I don't care if your friends. I, of all people, understand the affect Kurt can have on someone. If he decides he's happier with you, fine. As long as he knows he's making the right choice. I mean hell, I can't predict the future. We might grow out of each other. I hope that never happens but if anything like that does, it's good to know someone's there to catch Kurt if he falls."A small flicker of a smile darted across Dave's face."Thanks. I mean… Yeah. I'm glad you think that, cause I don't want to cause drama or make anything uncomfortable… But I want to see him. So yeah. Thank you."Dave and Blaine's eyes met and they both smiled at each other. They had both come to a bit of an understanding of the other's feelings towards Kurt, and their little smile was the first step towards pure respect. Their eyes locked on one another and for the first time, there was no malice or suspicion, no need to seek out hidden intentions. It was just Blaine and Dave, looking. Understanding. Knowing what it was like to be the other. Then, Flitwick started the class and they brought their attention to the front of the room. Dave left that lesson with more respect for Blaine Anderson then he ever had in his life.


	24. Even Though Love Delivers Miracles

Life in the Slytherin common room for the last week had been rather peaceful. Rachel, after much begging from Puck, had finally accepted his offer to become a couple. With both Quinn and Finn's solid approval and instance that yes, this was probably better for all of them, Rachel was often seen walking around the school on Puck's arm. No one could deny they were an excellent couple, as they seemed to be best friends as well as boyfriend and girlfriend. They were always laughing and smiling, and were often kissing each other on the cheeks and nose. Kurt swore he could see lights in Puck's eyes when Rachel accepted his offer over their group Potions table. His many ways of asking her out were starting to become a little overwhelming for the friends, but Rachel was talking about how illogical it _would _be for her to date him that Kurt and Quinn figured if it didn't happen soon, both of them would explode. Puck was actually egged on by Finn. He figured since he was Rachel's first boyfriend she could have only showed him the worst girlfriend she could be, given she had no experience. Clinging to him without moving on from that awkward phase was unhealthy. Finn thought the idea of them both moving on and gaining more experience apart for a while would be a better idea. He thought it might be a little weird since Puck was his best friend (they had made up about fighting over Quinn, agreeing that they couldn't stay angry forever), but there was no better time to get on the right track romance-wise. Kurt was starting to spend more time with Dave. They were warming up to each other again, giving each other more smiles. Blaine was more then happy not to come in-between them, he knew that they had something special that Kurt wanted. It made him a little uneasy sometimes, but he reminded himself Kurt was happy and fate brought Kurt to Dave the way it brought Kurt to himself, and there was a reason for that even if they couldn't see it just then. Kurt was becoming just as happy as he had been when his relationships with Blaine and Dave were both blooming. Quinn and Draco, of course, were still steady. Still relying on each other. Still in love. Quinn was just a few days away from having her baby, however, and there was a tense air around the both of them wherever they went. Quinn was almost sure she wanted to give Isabella up for adoption, but she was still not sure on what to do. Draco tried to blatantly avoid the subject whenever she asked, and she thought that was the most respectful way he could manage to say he wanted to keep her, but it was her choice. Quinn was sitting with Rachel, Kurt, Santana and Draco during one of Professor Sylvester's extracurricular combat classes. She preferred the term "combat" over "dueling" and Dumbledore said he didn't care what she called it as long as she taught the students. They were in the middle of a row of seats in the middle of the room, as usual. The very average seats had been Quinn's top pick when she was still trying to prevent news of her pregnancy getting out, as she was trying to blend in thoroughly with all the other students. It had just become habit for her to sit there afterwards, and she took her friends there with of particular interest was going on, but all the students knew it was best to look attentive. If they didn't, Professor Sylvester assumed they were asleep and drew on their faces. The class was silent, as usual, and particularly boring. Professor Sylvester wasn't making her usual jokes at the students and just seemed overly vicious, and everyone was withdrawing themselves. Quinn had been suspecting she might go into labor early, but out of a strange embarrassment didn't remove herself from her classes. However, she was starting to feel edgy about being there. She was almost sure she was in the first stage of labor and had been feeling some craping pain for the last few hours, which she had been sure to educate herself about. It was strange, seeing people around her act so casually when she was ready to dismiss herself for giving birth. Her hand was about ready to slide up into the air when another shot of pain went though her, moving slowly and cramping harshly. She winced and Rachel and Draco, who were immediately next to her, looked at her cautiously. "Guys, I-" she started, and they knew what she was trying to say before she was finished. It was lucky, because Quinn froze mid sentence and both friends were on the edges of their seats. "My water just broke." she whispered, and Rachel and Draco stood up abruptly, drawing the eyes of everyone in the class as they helped Quinn to her feet. Kurt and Santana jolted out of their seats too, realizing what was going on. "Hey! Where are you going?" Professor Sylvester snapped at them. "Quinn's having a baby!" Rachel said, and Draco seemed not to have heard her and was guiding her out of the door. Rachel grabbed Kurt and Santana's hands and nearly dragged them out, as if they would have been unwilling to follow anyways. The stares they were receiving were unimportant compared to the way they all seemed to have gone into overdrive, hearts pounding and brain's oddly blank as they walked together. About halfway to the hospital wing and Quinn's face was starting to clench, she was leaning on a very stricken Draco much more, and Rachel gasped in realization. "Puck! Quinn, can I go get him? I mean, I feel like he should be here for this because I feel as though we've all moved past the jealousy and this is important to him-" Quinn nodded, cutting her off, and Rachel turned on her heel and dashed off to the Gryffindor common room, where she knew Puck was spending his free period. She ran up to the Fat Lady, who looked down her nose at Rachel. "Password?" she asked. "One of the boys in there is becoming a father and I need you to open up right now!" Rachel demanded, slightly frantic. She figured they all must be in the hospital wing, Quinn was probably laying down. The Fat Lady shook her head when Rachel heard footsteps behind her and whipped around. Puck was walking up behind her, broom slung over his shoulder. "Hey Rach, I thought you were in- Oomph!" She had grabbed him by the hand and pulled him around before dashing away like she had with Santana and Kurt. "Where are we going?" Puck asked, looking confused and slightly panicky at Rachel's intensity. "Quinn's having her baby!" Rachel said, and Puck's eyes widened. "Shit!"-Madam Pomfrey asked only one of them to stay, as she hadn't helped deliver a baby in quite some time and needed to concentrate. Quinn clutched Draco's hand the hardest and he stayed as Madam Pomfrey swung the curtains shut around her bed. Santana and Kurt sat on a bed three away from Quinn's, clutching each others hands more to relieve their own stress about Quinn than anything. Kurt was sure Santana's fingernails were going to cut though his skin soon, but he didn't say anything. The groaning noises coming from Quinn were enough to silence anyone. Rachel and Puck ran into the wing, the doors bursting open. "She's in there with Pomfrey and Draco." Santana said, nodding her head towards the little closed off space. Puck was staring at it as if it was the only place in the world as he sat back down on the bed. Rachel sat next to him and following Kurt and Santana's example, grabbed his hands. He squeezed hers as well, nearly hurting her beyond simple pressure. Rachel just inhaled sharply, and they waited. Listening. Listening to Quinn's grunts turn into screams. Weird, gasping noises. They suspected those noises were only ever made during childbirth. Hurting each other by unconsciously digging fingernails into skin, stupidly trying to relate to their sweaty, bloody friend roped off from the world. Stared at everything without really seeing it, glassy eyed. Waiting, waiting for something. Waiting for time. Waiting for the knots of anxiety to untwist. Waiting for the room to fall silent. Waiting for conversation to burt forth. Waiting. at each other. Draco was wiping sweaty strands of hair away from Quinn's forehead, staring at her with a mixture of an attempt and cool, reserved calmness and intense sympathy pains. Emotions were flying everywhere like a flock of thestrals, attacking him. God, he was about to be a father. Not a real one, biologically, but there Quinn was, having a baby. It was strange and crazy and while she was there suffering, he felt his heart beat frantically, hope for the future rising up in him. His hope for Isabella's life. Hope that she grew up to be big and healthy and happy. Dreamed for her to be happy. Wanted it. Hated it. Hated everything. Hates the two parts of his life were colliding at such an innopritune time. The guilty thought he was shoving away, locking far back in his mind, was that Isabella would probably only be a week old when he guided his Aunt Bellatrix and the others through the vanishing cabinet. He tried to pull away, squirm out of the task, but what kind of father would he be if he didn't save his daughter's grandparents of at least one visit? While he was a man he was still a child, and he needed his parents. The threats, big and dark, like storm clouds hung over him. Drained into his grey eyes. Through all the hurt, he didn't know what he would have done if he didn't have Quinn. Given up, probably, or killed himself. Something. Without her to ease the pressure, he assumed it would have been unimaginable. So he was doing what he could. Holding her hand and letting her nearly crush his, which he certainly didn't like but what choice did he have? Wiping her hair away, whispering to her. Time didn't mean a thing anymore. He told himself he knew what he was doing, that he was doing the right thing. Everything was right. This was right. Don't worry about time. Class. Work. People. Worry about was a mess. A beautiful, natural, full-of life mess. In the delirium of the moment, he nearly laughed at what the other children outside must have been thinking. He bit it back though, he didn't doubt Quinn's ability to still give him an angry-scalding look in labor. That was the last thing he wanted. Happy, sad, strange, bloody, sweaty, Quinn, hurt, shouting, annoyance, hate, Vanishing cabinet… Everything was darting rapidly at him over and over when after what seemed forever…"She's crowning!" Draco's heart took an extraordinary leap as Quinn clenched his hand even harder and he wished madly that he could rub it. "Come on, push!" he whispered rather awkwardly to her, not knowing quite what to say other than that, his voice cracking. She did. Time passed slowly, drudgingly, annoyingly like slow motion as Draco suddenly wished for everything to be over and with a last dying shout and a smile and a wave of relief, it was. Draco slumped back in the chair he had pulled up, smiling blindly. "Oh, it's over…" he whispered to himself as Quinn panted softly. Madam Pomfrey went to go clean Isabella off as Quinn rolled her head on the pillow to face Draco. "We did it." "We did." The moment the curtains were drawn back was pure magic. Everyone moved slowly around the family, Quinn holding little Isabella in her arms and gazing on her with extreme fondness, and certainly love. Draco was gazing at her curiously, eyes sparking with wonder. Tears spilled over his cheeks as the sheer joy of some sort of relief fell over him and suddenly the fact he was a Death Eater didn't matter because he was a father, and to him in that moment there was no better title in the world. They were the picture of pure, clean looked down at Isabella, her eyes sparkling with opportunity. What would Isabella be? Minister of Magic? Headmistress? This little girl had a future laid out in front of her, a long, winding beautiful one and Rachel saw it plain as day through the sunlight in the windows that slanted onto their faces. Santana gazed over shoulders at Isabella, staring straight into her teenage years. The people she's talk to. The friends she'd make. Maybe she'd like girls, and Santana would be there to tell her that was ok. Maybe, just maybe, and Santana couldn't help but beam. Kurt looked down at the newborn, stared right past her clenched eyes into her soul, though the vague questions that would be posed about her parents, her life, her curiosity and instinct, right into the part of her that was her mother. Her father. The things they gave to her and all she'd take from them. Her love she'd have for them. The facts of new life spilled over into him, right into his heart and struck him like an arrow as he dabbed softly at his eyes. Puck stared at the girl in mild surprise, loving her, ready to ask Quinn if maybe he could visit her on weekends as Uncle Puck. He could hardly believe she was real, and he could hardly believe he was her father. Everything seemed right for a short while, where there was no jealousy of Draco or annoyance at losing Quinn or anything of the sort, where he was sure they would make great parents and everything would work out. Everything could work out. No exceptions. Draco reached out and gently ran his finger over the back of Isabella's hand, staring at it as if it was the first flower, the first star, the first set of eyes, the first bubble, first miracle he had ever seen. Quinn looked up at him and smiled, the way a mother should. The way Draco had seen Narcissa do. He beamed in some sort of disbelief that this was all happening, more tears streamed down his face. Kurt beamed at Draco, putting his hand lightly on his friend's shoulder. They weren't close, they fought a lot and couldn't agree on much. But they both beamed at each other and Kurt whispered "Congratulations." softly, and Draco nodded. Kurt let more tears flow, unknowing as to why the experience was hitting him so hard. Maybe just the sight of Quinn there with her lovely daughter, briefly free of all her stress, was something so rare and beautiful that they couldn't all help but marvel in it. "What's her name?" Puck asked, and Draco looked at him and said "Isabella Quinn." Puck nodded, looking appreciative. "Nice." he said, and everyone was surprised at the lack of tension between them, even. Rachel leaned against his shoulder, looking quite emotionally exhausted. He gave her a brief smile. "Listen, I was thinking, if you keep her… I want to be able to know her…"Both Quinn and Draco looked at him painfully. Santana smacked his shoulder hard, and he looked at her as though she was insane. "Not now! You are the King of Bad Timing!" Santana hissed. The comedy of the moment dissolved the hurt at Puck acting too soon. Quinn even laughed breathlessly. Madam Pomfrey walked back up and smiled at them all. "Oh, what a sight…" she said, mostly to herself. Then, "Now Ms. Fabray, you need to tell me when you make your decision about your daughter so I can tell you about the proper way to take care of her…" she began, and Quinn looked up at her, innocent-eyed and mouth half open so no one knew if she was actually catching what the old woman was saying. Kurt smiled and looked at Rachel and Santana. "We should go. Unless you want us to stay." he said, and Quinn looked back over at him. "Whatever you want." she said softly. Kurt nodded and moved Draco aside just slightly so he could kiss her on the forehead before turning to leave, giving the girls a chance to wave their final goodbyes before exiting the hospital wing. It took Puck longer to leave, but no conversation was passing. Quinn had something to say to Draco, but she was waiting until Puck decided to go. Eventually, he kissed Beth softly on the forehead and dismissed himself. Draco sighed and sunk into a chair. "I don't think we should keep her." Quinn said, still cradling the little girl who was then aimlessly sticking her tongue out and back in as if to probe the air. "We certainly aren't parent material…" Draco said, slouching. Quinn sighed. "What happened to the mean Slytherin boy I fell in love with?" she asked, half teasing when she saw him looking too old and strangely weak. Draco looked down. "He grew up." he muttered. She looked painfully over at him."I hate how much I want her…" she muttered. Draco nodded. "I mean, we're sixteen, we can't take care of her. We don't know how to raise a kid. I mean, look at our peers, we can hardly manage ourselves." Draco said with slightly hysterical disdain, trying to convince himself of his own words."I know that." Quinn said. Draco sighed. "We need to find someone good to take care of her, though…" Draco said, and Quinn looked at him curiously. "Couldn't we just give her up for adoption?" she asked, and Draco scowled. "No! Who knows how long she'd be in some orphanage, or who would get her? We need to find someone…" he said. Then an idea seemed to strike him. "What?" Quinn asked, seeing the look on his face."I have an idea… But wait, it would never work…" he muttered, looking down again. "What is it, though?" Quinn asked. "My cousin, she's in love with this… Professor Lupin, you remember him? Well, I thought of giving her to them but they're technically not even a couple yet… And my family hates them, I'm not sure what anyone would think… That was a stupid idea." "So I would be giving my and Puck's baby to my current boyfriend's cousin and her werewolf boyfriend…" Quinn said, looking as though she was about to laugh again. "I'm serious." Draco muttered."So am I."There was two solid seconds of consideration before both of them broke down laughing. "Oh god, that was too funny…" Draco muttered, grinning at Quinn. She smiled brilliantly at him. "You know, you could go back to class anytime you want. You don't have to stat here with me, I'll be all night and probably into tomorrow." she said, looking at him. He sighed. "I'll go later." Quinn nodded, and Draco leaned down to press a kiss to her lips. Quinn leaned upwards and tried to move without jostling Isabella, and their lips met for a brief moment where neither of them had anything to consider but each other, but that was over soon enough, and the world set back into motion.


	25. Even Though Love Leads to Loss

A week had passed since Quinn had given birth to Isabella. Puck had been given the title of godfather, a bit reluctantly by Draco. Rachel seemed to really like Isabella, and as soon as Madam Pomfrey gave the ok, both girls were out of the hospital wing and back to school life. Quinn was buying herself time, letting herself keep Isabella until the end of the school year. Then she would give her away. It was a hard concept to grasp, however. Everything seemed eerily at peace within the castle. It was Hogwarts, so naturally everyone expected there to be something dangerous going on. In recent years, it seemed almost ritual to have terrifying events happen to end the year with a bang. The peace was regarded with a little skepticism, but was welcomed eagerly by the relaxed students. Nothing seemed to really matter lately. Quinn was having a sleepless night. Isabella was crying nonstop and Draco had vanished without any sort of warning, leaving her to deal with it alone. She heard the noises from outside and, still bouncing Isabella gently in her arms, traveled up out of the dungeons to investigate. She saw a few students emerging from their beds, but passed them faster. She was determined to know what was going on so she could know whether she had to get herself and Isabella somewhere safer or not. She had Isabella clasped in her arms, offering as much immediate protection as she could against the ever-louder battle noises that were issuing from some point ahead of her. Her wand was tucked behind her ear, a trick she had picked up after seeing Luna Lovegood do it in the halls one day. There were no students except for her around. She caught a fleeting glimpse of the battle ahead, staring transfixed at it as Isabella started wailing miserably again. Quinn started bouncing her, staring at the jets of light ahead, knowing she should be going to notify someone. Then, she saw one of the figures saw her, one who was moving in her direction anyway. Her heart started to beat in triple time before she noticed it was Draco, and she relaxed. He ran ahead of the figure behind him and up to Quinn. She was ready to have a word with him, but the terrified look on his face caught her by surprise. It was only a second before he was gripping her shoulders and speaking in a fast, monotonous voice, strangely desperate. "Quinn, thank god you're here-""Draco, what's happening?""Listen to me, I'm going away, I have to leave right now. I love you. I love you so much. I'm sorry for sneaking away all year, I'm sorry for ignoring you for this, I love you I love you… I love Isabella too… Promise not to forget me, please, I did all I could…" he muttered, his intensity thoroughly shaking Quinn to the bone. The Draco she knew was offhand about these things, joked rudely about them. Not it was if he was making some sort of last confession, like he was about to die. There was so much Quinn wanted to ask him, so many questions what he just said gave rather than the answers he so desperately wanted to provide them. But then, Professor Snape was gliding up to Draco, and Draco was hurriedly kissing both of their foreheads before Snape rudely grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him off towards the exit. Quinn saw it instantaneously, the shift between worried, protective father into cowardly student at the powerful hands of Snape. Draco was letting him push him out of the front doors into the night, and Quinn reached out one of her hands as if to call after him, demand something, anything, that would clarify how scared she was. Isabella was still demanding attention, only soothed momentarily by her daddy that had now vanished, maybe permanently by the sounds of what he said. The shock, the hurt, the anger, the sadness. It wasn't slowly overwhelming her as it usually did, but had suddenly appeared, came out of nowhere, so she didn't comprehend she was possessed by the massive amounts of confusion she had just been delivered. It was as though everything had snuck up on her, creeping into her and fully manifesting when Draco's words had frozen her to the spot, no more useful to anyone in that situation than a mannequin would have been. A few minutes before, she had been nothing more than a curious student wishing to know what was going on outside her bedroom. Now she was a single mother, stranded with a child, a clueless survivor of a war outside her front door, annoyed, confused. As soon as she seemed to have regained control over her feet, she ran back to the dungeons, only hoping to keep her daughter safe.-Brittany was asleep in her bed one night, Ciaytey curled up in a little ball next to her. Suddenly, she was roused by the sound of people moving around her. She woke up unwillingly and peered around the dark room. "What's going on?" she asked to the now-stirring room in general. She got a few muffled replies. Then Hannah Abbot said "Do you hear those noises? We had better go ask what that's about, it nearly sounds like a fight…" The girls climbed out of bed, all in their nightclothes. An awful feeling was aroused in Brittany, and she knew something bad was happening. Something wrong. She couldn't shake the feeling and she couldn't place it. Her instincts were screaming at her, however, and she was growing angry knowing she couldn't figure out what they wanted. Once out of their dormitory, the curious band of girls met up with an equally tied and curious group of boys. "There's certainly something going on outside…" Ernie MacMillian said, running a hand through his hair. "Anyone up to go and check?" A few people nodded and the Hufflepuffs moved as a pack out of their common room and towards the array of battle noises. Most of them had their wands drawn, and those who had forgotten theirs in their dormitories huddled towards the center of the group. Brittany's edginess was increasing the closer they moved towards the noises. There was certainly a fight going on. Part of her calmed down at the realization, but another bit flared up, positively shouting at her to find out what was happening, to fix the wrong. Just then, when they were beginning to catch sight of the damage and jets of light around the entrance hall, Harry Potter ran by them in a hurry. Ernie started to speak to him, ask what was happening, and suddenly Brittany understood what was going on. Most of those figures were adults. There were students there too, fighting. Battling. The hits of faces she caught in sudden bursts of light were certainly members of the DA. Ringing started in her ears and her sweaty hand gripped her wand. Santana was out there, fighting possible dangerous adults. Somewhere inside her she knew, Santana's voice was mixed in with those screams and grunts. Before Harry Potter could dash off, she burst from the group and grabbed him with such force that he had to stop. The crazy desperation in his eyes could have only been countered by Brittany's sudden terror. "Where's Santana?" she asked, and Harry pointed behind them towards the fight before allots violently tearing his arm from Brittany's grasp and flying off outside the castle. Brittany sprinted in the opposite direction towards the fight, wand raised. It only took her an instant to find Santana, dueling viciously with an apparently mad man with long blonde hair. He was big and apparently dangerous, twice anyone's size. Santana's fighting was thrown off by the appearance of Brittany, and she looked as stunned and pleased as though she had just seen an angel when the big man threw a curse at them. Brittany deflected it and countered with one of her own, nearly slipping in the puddle of blood she had backed into. The girls didn't say anything, just regained their composure and fought against the apparently mad man, Brittany still totally unaware of the reasons for the situation, just dueling to protect her girlfriend. After five more minutes that felt like eternity, a dark shadow of a figure that neither of the girls could real make out hit Brittany with something Santana couldn't place from behind. Brittany toppled to the ground and Santana watched it happen as if in slow motion. She thought the figure should be lucky it dated away so fast because if it had stayed, it would have had to face her sudden, immense rage that exploded within her like a bomb. However, she just picked Brittany up, who's hair had unfortunately landed in that same puddle of blood and was now dripping and stinking in a way Santana could hardly stand, and ran away with her, as fast as she could manage. Once she had ran away, as far as she could manage with the weight into some corridor she couldn't really place, Santana set Brittany down on the ground as gently as she could, and collapsed, panting. She had never felt more desperate, more secluded, more unaware of what to do. The pressure, the hatred, the sadness all collapsed on her in an instant where her own problems vanished and her body seemed to take on the pain of the world. She bent over in half and started crying, into the hands she buried her face in, her befuddled mind trying to carve out a way to the hospital wing that involved not running into anyone dangerous. For Brittany.-Puck had snuck out past curfew again, to go flying at night. There was something exhilarating about having to trust you knew where you were with only the help of a tiny wand-light and much daytime practice on the quidditch field. He was taking a break when he saw the oak front doors burst open and figures run out. He was unaware it was Harry Potter among others dashing out of the hall, but it was such an unnatural sight for being so far into the night that he waited for them to move along just a bit before swooping down, only landing a few feet from the doors in the shadows of a tree, as not to alarm the people he saw gathering around the doors then. He walked through the doors, heard the battle going on right around the corner and ran right to the Gryffindor common room. He knew no one would be more interested in the fact that a fight was happening now than his friends, and if things turned out dangerous he wanted everyone to know. His broom clutched tight in his hand, he barely said the password before he was jogging up to his dormitory and bursting in the door. "Dude. Whats happenin?" Sam said, directly after the door was open and dim light spilled into the room. Seamus and Dean started to stir and looked to see Sam. Finn and Blaine both jolted into a sitting position before their eyes were fully open, and Blaine started rubbing his. "Dude, sup?" Finn asked, clearly annoyed that he would burst in like this, out of nowhere while everyone was sleeping. "Wait… Where were you?""On the quidditch pitch. Listen, there is something weird going on downstairs…" he said, tossing his broom aside and onto his bed. "Like, how weird? Because I want to sleep a lot right now…" Blaine said, trying to make his eyes open against the light appearing across the room now that the boys were lighting their wands. "Like dangerous weird." Puck said seriously. "Dangerous?" Dean asked, and Puck nodded. "Fighting. People are totally wreckin' the entrance hall up…""Then why should we go down?" Seamus asked, and Finn nodded. Puck looked around at all of them in an annoyed and partially shocked way, as if he had somehow been betrayed. "Be_cause." _he said, looking around at all of them. "You all have friends in different houses. Blaine, think about it. A battle is going on downstairs and you have absolutely no idea at all where Kurt is right now." Blaine looked twice as alert and a bit concerned. "Puck's right." he said, and hopped out of bed and went to pull Sam up. It was only a few minutes before the boys were out the door and walking down to see what was happening. A few other boys from the different years were walking down with them, a few third years stayed behind to pester a girl out of bed so they could pass on the information about what was happening. By the time they reached the entrance hall, the duels were coming to a close. Puck and Finn had to hold everyone back for a second, hurrying everyone to stand flat against a wall because just around the corner a few Death Eaters were flying out, leaving only residents of the castle behind. As soon as the Death Eaters were gone, Sam and Finn ran up to the bodies and the few surrounding them, interrogating the bloody, sweaty fighters and helping them hoist up the fallen people and carry them off. Dean and Sam ran out to the group of students gathered around the doors, started asking them what they saw. Puck and Blaine exchanged a quick glance. "You want to go find the Slytherins?" Puck asked, obviously hoping Blaine would say yes. Blaine nodded and they turned as if to go. They froze in their trackes mid step though. "Do you know where their common room is though?" Blaine asked, suddenly sounding slightly skeptical. Puck shook his head, and Blaine sighed. He barely had time to ask another question, however, when Santana Lopez came sprinting down the corridor, Brittany Pierce in her arms. Puck ran at her, caught her sleeve so she skidded to a stop. Blaine caught up to them just a second later. Santana looked frantic, but Puck knew they had no other choice and Brittany resting unconscious in Santana's arms was obviously something she'd want to take care of before personally guiding them to her common room. "Where's the Slytherin common room?" Puck asked, and Santana hastily gave them the instructions down to the dungeon dormitories. "The password's 'phantom'. Don't tell anyone I told you." she said before rushing off again. Puck and Blaine turned, and started jogging down the path to the wall that apparently hid the Slytherin's dorms. It wasn't long until they found their way and were at the wall. "Wait." Blaine suddenly said, looking up at Puck. "What?""Do we really need to burst into their common room? I mean, I don't even think we should know it's here…" "Dude! Don't worry about it!""But it's like… Private. Like reading someone's journal. And no one's fighting anymore, so…" Puck was about to argue back but then Quinn opened the door from the inside out and it appeared magically to Blaine and Puck, finally without Isabella in her arms, and jumped a foot into the air when she saw the two Gryffindors there. "What are you doing?" she hissed. "Seeing if my girlfriend and his boyfriend were here! What are you doing?" "Seeing if there's still a fight going on.""There isn't." Blaine said, nodding a bit. Quinn nodded, looking relieved. "Can you get Rachel and Kurt for us?" Blaine asked politely, and she nodded before disappearing again. It was a few minutes before she returned with a very tired looking pair of Slytherins. "What is happening?" Rachel asked, and Puck grinned before hugging her. "Why am I awake?" Kurt demanded before Blaine did the same to him, smiling fully. It was good to know they were there, instead of being carried off to the hospital wing. "There's fighting upstairs. We were making sure you were safe." Puck said, still smiling a bit. "Fighting? What do you mean?" Rachel asked, looking a bit concerned. Then again, she was expected to become exasperated when she thought someone was writing with their quill wrong. "People dueling. Death Eaters, it looked like. I don't know how they got in…" Blaine said, looking down a bit nervously. Rachel then stepped out the door and made as if to go right upstairs. "Whoa whoa whoa. Where are you going?" Puck asked, clutching her hand to keep her there."I'm going to see what's going on upstairs! Come on, Kurt, Blaine, Noah… Quinn, you should come too…" Rachel was thoughtful and casual with her words before turning and trying to walk off again. Kurt and Blaine exchanged looks and Quinn leaned against the doorframe. "But there's no more fighting! There's nothing to see." Puck said, still firmly holding her hand. "But I want to know what's going on. Maybe someone up there can tell us. And what if the fight just moved outside?" she added, and all of their curiosity gave them no reason to argue with her. Everyone followed Rachel up the stairs and into the unknown.-Only a few minutes after Puck arrived in the castle, Artie was having a vivid dream. He was in the Forbidden Forest and Luna was supposed to be with him, but she wasn't. She was missing. His other friends were too, Dave was somewhere, so were Santana and Brittany, but they were all close. He could tell they were there, just out of sight. But Luna, on the other hand, couldn't be further away from him. She was lost, somehow crying out to him from such a great distance, as far as a glistening star. In that strange dream world, her distance was threatening, frightening, it meant something was wrong with him as well and he had to find her before things got too bad. If only one of the others would come out of the dark hiding places and tell him what was going on…Then Dave was nudging him awake, Artie was fumbling for his glasses and put them on, blinking rapidly to try and make himself wake up from that nightmare. "Something's going on downstairs." Dave said, leaning over Artie's bed. Artie tried to focus on Dave's face. "How do you know?" "I just know, man. Something's not right.""Wanna go and check?" Artie said in a way that suggested he was not following Dave all the way down to wherever the hell to realize nothing was happening, but he trusted Dave's judgement anyway so he wanted some proof. "Sure. Be right back." he said and walked out. A few other of the boys were staring to stir, and Artie decided to go wait out in the common room for Dave. He wasn't going back to sleep and back into his weird dream. "Washappenin?" someone asked, and more stirring erupted across the room."Dave says something's going on downstairs, he went to check." "Wait, what?" another voice called, and Artie sat up straighter to try and see who was saying what. "Dave had a feeling something was going on so he's checking and I'm going to wait in the common room for him." Artie said, standing up and walking down the stairs. A few others followed him, looking groggy. "Wait, if something's going on then someone needs to go warn the girls." Terry Boot said once they were in the common room, as some other boys were coming down just to see what was happening. But then, Tina Cohen-Chang and Cho Chang walked down the stairs. The sisters were almost identical in the way they rubbed their eyes to try and clear away the heavy-liddedness. "What's up?" Tina asked, looking around at the pajama-clad boys around the room. Cho looked at them a bit suspiciously. Artie explained the situation again, and the sisters exchanged looks. "So you don't even know for sure anything's happening?" Cho asked, and it was the boys turn to exchange looks. "Better safe than sorry." Artie said, shrugging a bit as he sat down. Tina shrugged too, and went to sit next to him. "If something's happening, I want to be one of the first to know." she said boldly. Cho sat next to her and a few boys as well. Some realized they didn't have to be doing this and went back up to bed. It was a short while before Dave came back, looking slightly scared and somewhat justified. "There is something going on. I saw blood on the floor of the entrance hall, and something's on fire outside…"The few that stayed, waiting for news, jumped up with their wands in their hands, ready to go explore the wreckage and find out what was going on. "Tina, can you go get Luna?" Artie asked, but Tina shook her head. "Luna wasn't in bed. Not this evening, either." Artie's face went pale. Maybe he wouldn't have been so startled if he hadn't just figured out a small battle had been waged downstairs or had just been roused from a dream concerning Luna's disappearance, but that information struck him as grave and he was the first one out of the room, leading the way back down. As they walked, their footsteps seemed to be the only noise. No one seemed to be out, and they looked around suspiciously, expecting the worst. Artie had the feeling Luna was down here, doing something she shouldn't have been, something unsafe. Something he would have asked her not to do, certainly. His worry was flaring up inside him, and he tried over and over again to tell himself it was was hoping that she would find them somehow. Reassure him of something. That she wasn't gone, even, or wouldn't go. That she wouldn't pull such scares in the future. His curiosity about what had just happened was raging inside him, too. What would bring any two people in the castle, more probably, to fight no harshly they drew blood? If it wasn't someone from the castle, then who was it? How did they get in? Why? Who was to blame? He was sure the group of Ravenclaws behind him were thinking the same thing. Something was happening, and they wanted to know what. They approached the entrance hall, where a group of Hufflepuffs and a few Gryffindors were peering around the oak doors, murmuring among themselves, still all in nightclothes like the Ravenclaws were. A few of them looked quite shaken, fiercely so. The Ravenclaws approached and started to interrogate them. Apparently, from what they gathered, there was a battle between grown people who appeared to be Death Eaters, some teachers, and students. Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, and Snape ran by, and every so often another would until the fight disappeared from the hall, carrying out into the night until the Death Eaters were off the grounds and could disapparate away. Something was going on outside, but they couldn't tell who it involved or whether it was safe to step outside of the grounds yet. "Have any of you seen Luna Lovegood?" Artie asked the people nearest him, and Susan Bones nodded. "She went up to the hospital wing." she said far too casually for Artie's taste. He and Dave exchanged a look before rushing off, up to the hospital wing to find was wishing too bad that she hadn't been harmed, it almost hurt. They were jogging, and Dave looked as confused as Artie felt. They burst into the hospital wing, where Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, and a few others were gathered around the bed of a man Dave and Artie didn't know. But when Artie's eyes found Luna, whole and undamaged, he let out a sigh of relief and walked over to her. "Artie!" she said when she saw him. She moved towards him and they wrapped their arms around each other, letting their heads rest on each other's shoulders. "I thought you fought-""I did.""When they told me you were in the hospital wing, I thought you were hurt…""Oh no, I'm here for Ron, Ginny, and Bill." she said, gesturing to the horribly mutilated man on the bed who was being tended to by Madam Pomfrey. Artie looked at him for a second, eyebrows forrowed. Dave leaned over to get a look at him as well. "Who is he?" Artie asked. "My brother." Ginny said a bit shakily, and Artie nodded before turning back to Luna. "I was pretty scared about you.""I'm sorry. I wanted to help the others, you know, we learned how to fight and there's no better application then when there are Death Eaters in the castle…"Artie laughed breathlessly and pulled her into a quick kiss, his relief walked in then, sweaty and tired looking, obviously emotional. Her face was red and everyone could tell it wasn't just from walking a distance, she had been crying. Brittany was in her arms, still unconscious. "Brittany! Santana!" Dave said, and ran to go help her. Artie and Luna stared in shock, and everyone else in varied states of concern. Santana let Dave take Brittany and sat down on a bed, looking a bit shaken. Artie and Luna walked over to her. "What happened?" they asked right away, and she sighed. "We were fighting… One of the Death Eaters or someone got her." she said, and Luna ran over to the bed Brittany was laying on. The friends went to go pester Madam Pomfrey into attending to Brittany right away. Dave and Ginny left only a few minutes later to see what was going on downstairs. Artie and Luna sat down then, waiting.


	26. Even Though Love Lives Through Tragedies

Quinn, Blaine, Kurt, Puck, and Rachel traveled upstairs without speaking. They were each absorbed in their own thoughts, braced and edgily waiting for whatever they may find. Quinn drifted lonelily in the middle of the couples, pondering Draco's sudden absence with a desperate longing for him to come back and hold her hand. She felt extremely awkward just being there. Rachel undoubtably sensed that and clutched Quinn's hand along with Puck's suddenly before smiling at her. Quinn looked at their hands for a second in mild disbelief before smiling back, feeling nervous and more exposed than ever. Rachel had a way of knowing just what she was thinking and while it was helpful, it was annoying. She didn't want to feel like she had to be more comfortable around Rachel than anyone for it, although that's what was happening as of late. The entrance hall was deserted, and there was a certain, strange feel about it. It was as though it had only just been abandoned, and everyone looked around at the stone walls and high ceilings anxiously, as if looking for some sort of answer. "Well… Let's go outside…" Kurt said, gesturing to the open doors with his free hand where people were moving and gasping in surprise. They all exchanged anxious looks before slowly shuffling towards the great oak doors and into the crowd that was making their way over to the base of the Astronomy tower. It seemed no one could see what was going on. "Is someone hurt?" Quinn asked the group as a whole, in a whispered voice as if she didn't want to disturb someone who was sleeping. Everyone shrugged a bit and tried to make their way to what was pulling their attention. The group of five could clearly see Hagrid then, towering above everyone around what was so interesting on the ground. Rachel was muttering intently about how someone obviously was madly hurt and who could it have been and why everyone was panicking… Suddenly, a chill blew through the semi circle of people surrounding the Astronomy tower just before the whispers passed, everyone fell silent until the breeze of words blew back from the firsthand witnesses to the people at the back of the crowd._Dumbledore's dead._It brought a tense, stiff jointed manner over everyone and there was a group shortage of breath until the words died off like smoke when it hit the five friends that were the last to come out of the castle. "That can't be true…" Kurt whispered, breaking the icy silence that fell, and he grabbed Blaine's hand and moved the stunned students aside. He refused to believe it, absolutely refused. He reached the front of the crowd to find Finn and Sam there, unblinking eyes fixed on the silhouettes on the ground, trembling slightly. Blaine soon resembled Finn, his eyes locked hard on the quivering figure of Harry Potter clutching the broken, lifeless figure of Dumbledore. His grip on Kurt's hand tightened tenfold as his brain refused to believe what his eyes were registering. His heart sped up, but if felt as though it had stopped and was creeping up his throat. He felt if he spoke, he would choke, but his boyfriend's stony indifferent face brought him to words. "Kurt…" he whispered, his voice croaky. "That can't be right." Kurt said, every crease in his face screaming denial. "Kurt, it's right there…" Blaine whispered, swallowing. "No, that can't be Dumbledore." he said, shaking his head slowly. "It is." Blaine said, his voice growing a bit thin. "No, no it isn't. Dumbledore doesn't just die, he doesn't just… I never even talked to him, I didn't even… Why do I care? I- I- I don't believe it, I just…." Kurt stammered crazily, his head shaking speeding up with his words. Blaine nodded, understanding perfectly how Kurt was feeling. He moved over just a bit and wrapped his arms around Kurt as they both kept their eyes staring blankly at Harry Potter continued to shake miserably over Dumbledore. Blaine was reminded briefly of his mad, fan-like infatuation over Harry and how Neville helped him recover and find Kurt… In his arms… Kurt was right. He didn't know Dumbledore personally. They had talked when Blaine had the same sort of mindless obsession with the Weasley twins and he let them rope him into stupid pranks before he knew what was going on, and he had talked to Dumbledore up in his office then. He had such a mystic presence, always kind and caring and making people feel as though they were equals, which was a stunning feat on it's own as everyone knew no one could measure up to Dumbledore. Even when the Prophet was lying about him, he was still regal, still proud of his school… When it came to that, who cared if they knew him personally? Everyone knew of Dumbledore's devotion to Hogwarts and it saved their school multiple times over, and he was a respected genius. If that wasn't something to grieve over, then what was? There wouldn't be a proper Hogwarts without Dumbledore… So how would they go on without him?Ginny Weasley was then shoving through the crowd as Kurt and Blaine had, except she had a set, determined face. She was there for a purpose. Dave Karofsky followed right behind her. There were no complaints, as the crowd seemed to be made of hollowly muttering empty shells that swayed easily by when the two made their way through. Ginny moved right forwards from where the crowd stopped and up to Harry. She moved slowly and gently around him, slowly slipped her hand into his. Dave stopped, next to Kurt and Blaine. "Dumbledore…" he whispered, obviously just going through the shock they had just experienced. Kurt nodded. "We know." he said, looking up at Dave. Blaine's arms were wrapped around Kurt's waist, leaving his shoulders exposed. Dave rubbed them gently, in a slow, comforting way. Dave looked at Blaine for a tense seconds and Blaine gave his head a tiny nod, telling Dave that yes, he could do that. Right now, at that moment, it didn't matter what relationships existed and which ones didn't, who was connected by fate and who wasn't, all that mattered was that Hogwarts had lost it's heart. The entire group knew it to be true. Ginny had coaxed Harry off the ground and was leading him up, away from the body and back to wherever she came from. Dave looked after her once she had broken free of everyone, and turned to follow her. Kurt and Blaine followed their lead. Led by Kurt, the two traveled back to find their friends. They were all waiting for them with half dead, half eager eyes. "Dumbledore is dead." Blaine said a bit haltingly, looking at the ground in some sort of respect. Rachel, Quinn, and Puck all pursed their lips and looked down as well, pushed to by some unknown force, all suddenly grieving with Kurt and Blaine. Then Puck looked up, drawn by a not too distant motion. They all followed his lead but it was nothing more than Hagrid carrying Dumbledore away to be prepared for whatever came next. Solidifying the fact that he was dead. "I don't even know what to feel… I'm heartbroken, obviously, but…" Rachel murmured, blinking rapidly down at the ground. "I know… He did so many things to protect us…" Quinn said, her voice soft and low as if she was in the library. "Maybe this is some big joke. Like, Death Eaters are sick people right? Listen, maybe they fed a guy polyjuice potion and shoved him off the tower…" Puck said, but Blaine started shaking his head. The crowd was disassembling to move back to their dormitories to wait until the sun rose. "Then the real Dumbledore would have come out to investigate." Kurt said, and with that last strand of desperate hope tossed away, they made their ways to their separate common rooms to lay in their bed and let the minutes drag by like hours until someone managed to get them all up for breakfast.-The funeral crept up in them like a tiger on it's prey. The arrival of witches and wizards around the world only brought light to the fact that Dumbledore had passed. Madame Maxine wouldn't have bothered to come from France if she wasn't sure. The Minister of Magic wouldn't be there if it wasn't necessary. Events that would be considered good, the arrival of interesting guests, postponed exams, an early end to the school year and more, were just thrown into a bad light and brought only slight satisfaction. It wasn't as though the whole school was openly weeping about it and even if a student didn't like Dumbledore they had appreciated or respected him, everyone settled into a maddening gloom. The day of the funeral was gorgeous. It was a day that would usually be spent out by the lake or on the quiditch pitch. Instead, they were all in dress robes, not meeting each others eyes and being led out onto the grounds by the lake by their heads of houses. Kurt was clutching Rachel's hand unnecessarily hard and she was clothing his back. Their fingernails were digging into the back of each other's hand, but the raw numbness of the moment left them both slightly ignorant of the pain they were giving each other. When they sat down, Puck came to sit next to Rachel. She buried her face in his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, staring at the marble table set up in front of the lake with a strangely determined expression on his face. Kurt only had to bear two seconds of jealousy before Blaine was there and both of this hands were on top of one of Kurt's. They smiled briefly at each other, knowing they should smile at all. It didn't reach their eyes though. It was only a way of saying hello. Quinn followed shortly behind them. It didn't take long for her to realize Draco wasn't going to come back and help her, at least for a while. He had said it himself. She had nothing to do but believe him. She didn't bother to try and cover up the bags under her eyes. Isabella was wonderful, and beautiful, but somewhere inside her she knew she might not be able to handle it all. She sat next to Rachel, who held her was still in the hospital with Bill Weasley. Brittany stayed close to Dave and they were the ones sitting with each other, almost at the very back of all the rows of seats. She seemed comfortable enough with him and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her shoulders. It was natural and they were friends. Dave finally started asking himself "Why not?" instead of "why?".Artie was sitting on Dave's other side, looking slightly nervously between Dave and Luna. Luna was acting respectful and grim, but seemed far more disconnected then everyone else… Or she could have been more connected… Well, all Artie knew was that she wasn't crying like everyone else. Just sitting silently and alertly. She insisted on helping Neville down from the hospital wing and Neville smiled apologetically at Artie, trying to banish the sadness from his eyes when he did so. Mermaids started to appear a few inches below the lake just behind the marble table, and they began to sing. It was eerie, no one there spoke their language, but they were so clearly communicating their loss and despair that the song was almost enviable. Rachel was drawn to it. It, although directed towards the painful events at hand, momentarily distracted her. Rachel knew she was a marvelous singer, and didn't mind flaunting it. But these creatures, their singing was clear communication. There were no lyrics to misinterpret, only pure emotion. Rachel felt it, right in her heart, and leaned forward towards the lake just slightly. She was still clutching onto Puck's sleeve, and he was listening avidly as well. Luna found the mermaid's song particularly entrancing as well. The respect and clarity it brought to the event, so grim and filled with murky, half formed ideas of what happened that night on the astronomy tower, was astonishing to her. Real sadness was brought to her face as the merpeople finished their song and disappeared back into the depths of the lake. The large group barely had time to recover from the strange song before Hagrid was walking up the aisle. Everyone's eyes were glued to him, although no one wanted to believe what they were seeing. Dumbledore was in his arms, dressed in purple, and people caught the faintest glimpse of him as Hagrid moved with slow, deliberate steps up to the marble table. Kurt's breath caught in his throat as he watched them pass, and when he looked at Blaine for some sort of consolation he was not alone in his sorrow, he saw Blaine with a hardly changed facial expression but streaks of tears catching sunlight on his face. Kurt rubbed Blaine's hands softly, trying not to cry himself. He knew Rachel was already staining Puck's shirtsleeve and he didn't want to look pathetic by turning around to see if everyone else was crying too. He looked up at the front, painfully still, as Hagrid returned back to his seat and was blowing his nose forcefully loud. Brittany turned to look at everyone, despite the tears welling up in her eyes. Tina Cohen-Chang was sitting with Mike Chang, who Brittany knew from being around the common room with him for six years. They were both shaking a bit, more out of surprised sadness then anything. Cho Chang, Tina's sister, was sitting with them too, openly crying. Sam Evans, Mercedes Jones, Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas were sitting near the front, she couldn't see their faces. Sam and Mercedes were obviously holding hands, however. She saw all the people who had been around to help when she had been going through troubled times, and all the people that caused her troubles. It was sadly comforting to know that they were united under a death, and may never be together like this otherwise. She snuggled up to Dave again, focusing on where Dumbledore lay on the table. A short man made his way to the front and began to speak. He tried to describe Dumbledore's life, his achievements, his advances. Like that was all that mattered. Dave didn't like the little man's speech much. Dave didn't know Dumbledore well, but he doubted anyone did. But at this point, it was no use pretending Dumbledore wasn't human, and he had uninspired, angry, and depressed times like the rest of them. That was a comforting thought to Dave, because he knew hurt came before advancement. If Dumbledore wasn't the most advanced, intelligent person he knew of, he was sure he experienced the strife Dave did. It was comforting, and gave him the impression that he wasn't alone. He smiled softly to himself before viciously thinking that he shouldn't be smiling at a funeral like that. It seemed as though the speech lasted shorter than it should have. What would they all do when it was over? Would they all just have to realize Dumbledore was gone, and wouldn't be coming back? It didn't seem there was a clear path to go down when the little man stopped talking. But he did. Puck took a sends to look away from the top of Rachel's head, which was buried in his chest, to look a few rows behind him at Finn. He was sitting there, in a jumble of students Puck assumed he hung out with more now. Finn was staring at Dumbledore on the marble table with an expression that said he didn't quite understand everything that was happening. However, Puck knew him better then to think he was really confused. That was Finn's denial face. When the little man stopped speaking, many people let out shrieks. The white table had burst into flames around the edges, and everyone watched as the flames rose up around the table, seemingly consuming Dumbledore's body. White smoke spiraled out of the flames and twisted to make funny shapes in midair. Then suddenly, it was all gone. A white marble tomb that matched the table that was no longer visible concealed Dumbledore's body. There were a few seconds where everyone waited in anticipation for something else to happen. Then, a few more people screamed as a stream of arrows flew from the forrest and stuck into the ground just a few feet from the crowd. A few people turned their heads just in time to see the centaurs turn away and move back into the forrest. Like that, it was over. People started to shift about. Get up. Talk. Some people stayed in their seats to express their sentiments with one another. Some just had to get away. Brittany and Dave went up to the castle right away, for Santana. Dave gave Kurt a last look. Kurt had his address, he'd send letters over the summer, he promised. He wasn't going to interfere with the last few hours he had with Blaine, no matter how much he wanted to. He reminded himself he wasn't that kind of person as Brittany's warm, slender hand slipped into his big one and she guided him back up to the castle. Artie expected, although he couldn't tell himself why, to be the one to hold Luna and comfort her during this process. It wasn't as though she was unaffected by the ceremony and the sadness in the air, but it was though as more she was in touch and accepting of it than anyone else. She was absentmindedly rubbing his arm, making slow steady motions with her hand to keep him steady. They didn't need to talk to one another to express themselves just then. Luna knew they would talk on the train home. Finn watched Puck and Rachel stand up and start talking. He sighed to himself and tried to pay attention to what Sam was saying next to him. He didn't miss Rachel as a girlfriend, and he was glad they had all moved on. But now as he watched her, he thought about the whole year and how many mistakes they made. How many stupid things she had done, and things he had done, and how different everything would be if they had avoided all that. There wasn't a longing or regret there for him, his emotions had been muted by the strange stress the funeral had brought onto him. Finn then looked up at the castle. He was going home. He and Kurt would fully warm up to each other and act like brothers again, away from the stresses that came from being in rival houses. He would spend the summer around Burt and his mom. Things would be normal. But he knew that, now matter how much he denied it, he couldn't wait for another year with Puck, Quinn, and Rachel and whatever dramas it brought. Kurt stood up eventually and gently pulled Blaine up with him. They looked at each other for just a few seconds, understanding each other's melancholy and sadness. Blaine was the first one to speak. "What am I going to do all summer without you?" he said, a half sad grin creeping up onto his face. Kurt returned the little, soft grin. "Write a lot. Invite me over to your house. Come over to mine." "Sounds like a plan." Blaine said, and took both of Kurt's hands before leaning forward and pressing their lips together. The kiss was gentle, delicate and sweet. It brought hope to the day. Kurt was reminded he didn't have to isolate himself to be able to show pain and sadness. He had Blaine, who promised to always be there for him. Blaine, who would listen and care and love unconditionally. They slowly pulled away form each other, smiling softly, knowing they had each other. Quinn watched her friends pair off. Find the person they wanted to comfort them the most. She was left alone. Her longing for Draco to come back flared up more than ever. She scanned the crowd on instinct, so she would at least look as thought she was doing something. Then she spotted them. Draco had described them to her, as a precaution to any situation where Quinn would need them, that they assumed wouldn't happen. But there the situation was. They were unmistakable. Draco said the woman would have pink hair, and she'd recognize the other one as Professor Lupin. They were holding hands. She took a deep breath and walked over to them. Her intent of wanting to talk to them was clear, so they turned their heads to see her right away. She put on her biggest, most winning smile. No matter what she'd gone through that year, it didn't affect her capability to charm. "Hello. I'm Quinn Fabray." she said, and Lupin smiled in remembrance. Tonks stuck out her hand, and Quinn shook it gently. "Hello Quinn. It's good to see you're doing well." Lupin said. Quinn nodded. "You too."There was a small silence as she composed what she was going to say next. "And you're Miss…?" she asked, looking at Tonks. "Nyphadora Tonks." she said with a quick nod, adjusting her fingers entwined in Lupins. "Yes, and you're Draco Malfoy's cousin?" Quinn asked, and Tonk's expression grew sour. "I don't like to associate with that side of the family much." she muttered, not hiding her dislike for her relatives. Quinn only saw this as a minor setback."Well, I don't mean to be invasive and I apologize if I'm overstepping my boundaries, but are you two married?" Lupin shook his head. "We only decided to be together officially yesterday. Why do you ask?"Quinn knew her plan wouldn't work any longer. There was no way at all they would cooperate. She sighed anyway, and told him because he had asked. "I'm not sure if you had been told, but just under three weeks ago Draco became a father. Not biologically, of course, but he openly accepted the role of father to my child. He even named her. But because of… recent events he's left me alone with her and there's no way I'm going to be able to raise her on my own. He told me about you two and how you were in love. I figured, if you were a couple, or married, and interested in having children you could help me. But…" Quinn trailed off and made as if to turn around and walk away. "Wait!" Tonks said and grabbed Quinn's shoulder. Quinn looked at her, surprised. "We're certainly not ready for a baby yet, but I know people who could raise her… And if all else fails you could just keep in contact with us and we could help you." she said, right away. Quinn was taken aback by her sympathy, but gave Tonks her address and was let go with a wave and two smiles. She walked back over to Kurt, Blaine, Puck, and Rachel. "I have to go get Isabella." she said before walking up to the castle where Isabella had been left in the care of Madam Pomfrey. The friends watched her go for a little while before turning back to each other. "I… Guess that's it." Blaine said, looking wistfully around at the dispersing crowds. Harry Potter talking to the Minister of Magic. He remembered the beginning of the year, and his silly crush. He almost wished he was back there, when things weren't as complicated. But he looked up at Kurt, and changed his mind. You couldn't get to anything worth fighting for without obstacles. Kurt smiled sadly at him. "That's it." replied softly. "We should go up to the castle and get our things. You know, before the train…" Rachel said. Puck nodded in agreement, wrapping his arm protectively around her shoulders. They headed back up to the castle together, finally feeling peaceful.


End file.
